Los Campesinos! with opener Sun Club at 9:30 Club Jan 23, 2014

Los Campesinos! at 9:30 Club 1/23/14

Sun Club at 9:30 Club 1/23/14

Do you like twee? Do you crave the music of tortured pasty-white intellectuals? Then you'll love this band. Los Campesinos! has been on my concert tracking list for a couple years and I really like a couple songs from their new album, so I grudgingly bought a ticket to this mid-week show in the middle of January. It takes a LOT to get me downtown in the cold, especially on a weeknight. If I hadn't been the hostess for the Meetup at this show, I might not have gone at all after a metro breakdown made me late for the opener. After 30 minutes of waiting in vain for the metro, I gave up and drove to the 9:30 Club, then spent a fair amount of time looking for parking. I saw no more than half of the opening act, a local Baltimore band called Sun Club. Oddly, I had seen them advertised as performing with Heyrocco at Metro Gallery in Baltimore just a couple weeks before. I like Heyrocco, so I was bummed to miss that one, especially at that venue, which I consider a hidden gem. The band also mentioned an upcoming gig at Rock and Roll Hotel next month, so they are definitely making the local rounds. They had a lot of energy, but they all seemed young and immature as musicians and performers.  I could see them eventually growing into something better, but nothing they performed made me want to hear more from the band.

Los Campesinos! sounded wonderful, and the lead singer Gareth did a good job of engaging the audience. He was droll and awkward and used odd, jerky dance moves with no apparent self-consciousness. He talked about how his accent is considered a hick accent in the UK, but that in the US, it impresses everyone. He made a joke about pandering for cheap cheers by mentioning DC.  Only one other band mate talked to the audience to tell a story about a drunken acquaintance sleepwalking and peeing on the bed he was sleeping in. It was funnier than I make it sound. So there was some interaction, but the only one on stage worth watching was the lead singer.  The rest of them didn't move around much. The sound quality was excellent - it was a sing-along kind of show where you could hear all the words.  I had a good time.  My verdict: worth seeing, but perhaps just once.

San Fermin w/Marian McLaughlin at Strathmore Mansion, December 13, 2013

Marian McLaughlin 12-13-13

San Fermin, 12-13-13 at Strathmore

Eric, Dana and I met up at the Strathmore Mansion for San Fermin, which I saw and loved in October at DC9.

The opener was Marian McLaughlin, an experimental musician who plays guitar in a very unusual way (using a technique called "derive"). Dana and I thought some parts of the guitar work were really interesting, and her voice was good. Problem was, the lyrics  are truly abysmal and the songs seem to go on forever. It was painful to listen to, so of course, Eric thought it was amazing. (I think he was mostly into the guitar.) I could see Marian being the inspiration for someone else to use the guitar style in something more approachable. Or maybe she'll get a clue and evolve, or find a partner with a talent for song craft.  Good luck to her - she has raw talent, I just won't ever listen to her again.

San Fermin was nearly as good as last time, but had an issue with the sound mixing.  It was simply too loud. The sound engineer blasted everything, instead of bringing the vocals forward. The Strathmore Mansion is an intimate venue where you should not have to worry about ear damage. They need a better sound guy.  I still recommend their show and music 100%.  I'm hoping they break out big on the festival circuit this year.