Ironic Twist
seeking irony, because sarcasm clashes with my outfit
Friday, August 20, 2004 :::
My Northeast vacation, as I'm calling my trip to Boston, began with a day trip to Portland, Maine. Part of our drive there was on the scenic Rt. 1. While driving through Wells, I saw a sign for Sister Mary Catherine's Internet Cafe. Portland is sort of like Annapolis, Md., only with lobster rolls instead of crabcakes.
Upon returning to Boston, we went to the Paradise to see The Polyphonic Spree. I haven't seen a band get that much unadulturated, hyperactive love from the audience since, well, maybe I've never seen anything quite like it. Sure, people go to see Franz Ferdinand and dance around, but the crowd's response to The Polyphonic Spree was something else. I got sort of scared at the part where everyone was chanting "love, love!" Although The Polyphonic Spree do manage to push my cynicism aside a bit with their pretty voices and joyous music, the cynicism came back full force during the love chant. There were people there wearing robes, and they weren't part of the group. I saw a woman wearing a fan robe buy another fan robe after the show. How many fan robes does one need?
Tuesday, August 17, 2004 :::
Of all the pretty boy indie pop concerts I've been to lately, last night's was the prettiest. I'm not really into pretty boys for dating purposes, but they sure are nice to look at, especially when they're also making pretty music.
I didn't get a chance to download any Elkland songs before going to the show last night, which probably only made the live experience better, since it was a surprise how much I enjoyed it. The comparisons to make are to The Cure and New Order -- after Elkland performed a song introduced as a love song, I had to turn to MG and MW and ask, "Is that a cover of a Cure song or one of their own?" MG replied, "Most of their songs sound like Cure songs." MW said, "Yeah, but I like it." We all shrugged in agreement and faced the stage again to bask in the pretty boy glory that is Elkland.
Just look at those cheekbones.
Next came the band I was there to see, Ambulance LTD. At first it was announced that Ambulance and Elefant would switch spots because Ambulance were late getting to the Black Cat. Then Ambulance arrived and went on at around 10:40, only 10 minutes later than they were supposed to go on. And yet, after four songs –- "Heavy Lifting, "Primitive (The Way I Treat You)," an unfamiliar song they said they don't usually play and "Stay Where You Are" –- they were told that their time was up. They managed to fit in one more, the instrumental "Yoga Means Union," for a total of a wonderful but unsatisfying five songs. No "Ophelia" and no "Anecdote," two of my favorites. But, "Heavy Lifting" is my absolute favorite of all of their songs, and I got to hear that, so I can only complain so much. Of course this means that when The Killers come to the 9:30 Club in September, I'm going to have to go, because I saw on Ambulance's site that they will be opening that show. Since I saw them open for stellastarr* back in March, The Killers have been getting tons of commercial airplay around here, which means it will most likely be a sold-out show full of WHFS kids. The things I do for pretty music.
My Ambulance boyfriend. I was standing far away from him, so this is the best I could do for a photo.
So, after the disappointment of a much too-short Ambulance set, came Elefant. I've been hearing about this band for probably a year now, from the various NYC music blogs, next-big-thing lists and because they toured with Interpol. I can see what the hype is all about. They write pretty new wave-ish music and they play it well, plus the lead singer has a Johnny Depp thing going on and he wears tight pants and strikes poses. Unfortunately, he knows just how sexy the girls think he is. He gives off the air of a guy who's very selfish in bed because he's a gift to women. Hey, for all I know he's a very nice guy and is actually shy and awkward when not on stage, but somehow I don't get that impression. Anyway, I enjoyed their set because it's the kind of music I like and they're good at playing it, but it didn't do anything for me.
Meg, did you and Sarah get to be Ambulance groupies last night?
Monday, August 16, 2004 :::
I'm going to have to hijack two of SOVIETPANDA.'s items today:
1. Read what The New Yorker has to say about Icelandic music.
2. Listen to the upcoming Moving Units album. Login: mu. Password: presshere. I saw Moving Units open for Hot Hot Heat and then Blur in 2003. They make me dance. The album gets same-y, though.
And now that that's over, is it just me, or is this way too much damn excitement and festivities for the opening of a donut shop?
The weekend can be summed up in a few words: Olympics, wedding, ABBA, skirts, puppies, Olympics. Did I mention the Olympics? Watching Ian Thorpe swim has the same effect on me as seeing a van Gogh -- it's breathtakingly beautiful. I miss swimming.
Tonight: Elkland, Ambulance LTD and Elefant at the Black Cat. Both Elkland and Ambulance have MP3s on their sites,if you haven't heard them before. Elefant claim to have audio and video on their site, but I get an error message when I try to download anything. Out of the three bands, I've only seen Ambulance perform, and, if you've been reading this blog lately, you already know that they make me swoon.
Elsewhere in D.C. (about a mile away, actually), The Polyphonic Spree perform at the 9:30 Club. I'll be seeing them while I'm in Boston. Yes, liking them does make me feel like I'm in a cult, but it's harmless, right? Right?
01/05: Taint and Bliss present INFAMY, 9:30 Club
01/10: Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton, 9:30 Club
01/19: Benjy Ferree, Meredith Bragg and the Terminals, Greenland, Black Cat 01/24: Hej Hej, Cafe Saint-Ex
