It was a busy concert season this fall, and I'm happy to have wrapped it up. I'm weary of live shows right now, which is a big honking red sign that it's time to cut back. No worries - I have NO concerts currently booked for the future, and winters are usually slow. By spring, I'm sure I'll be excited to see shows again, and next summer I'm hoping for a girl's trip to the Firefly Festival.
On Saturday, November 8, 2014, Eric and I went to the sold out Kimbra show. It was an eclectic crowd. I think the R&B vibe Kimbra sometimes channels influenced the diversity of the crowd. They were VERY excited to see her, too. There was a ton of singing along and the front of the crowd was absolutely claustrophobic. I nearly left before the main act, I was so uncomfortable. I react very badly when people are touching me for extended periods of time - I NEED SPACE. That even goes for Eric - he was crowding me too. So I didn't fully enjoy the experience.
The opener,
Empress Of, was not all that talented. Sort of a Lorde wanna-be without actual lyrical or much singing talent. Eric and I both found her tedious, though she was clearly into her performance.
Kimbra was a superstar performer.
U Street Music Hall has a tiny little stage, and she had 4 guys up there with her, yet she still managed multiple costumes and TONS of dancing. Her voice was hoarse compared to when I last heard her - probably because it was the very end of her tour - but she was so personable, no one cared. She's really impressive live. Check her out if you get the chance.
On Saturday, November 15, 2014, Eric and I went to see one of his favorite bands, The Birthday Massacre. They played at
Empire, a goth/metal club in Springfield, VA. Empire has a habit of packing as many openers into an evening as they possibly can. It becomes VERY tedious waiting for the headliner after the 4th opener you simply don't care about. People-watching sustains me for the first two to three openers, but after that, I'm checked out. The people-watching at this club is FUN though. They might not all think of themselves as cosplayers, but there is a LOT of dress up there. Highlights included the goth Indian chief, bunnicula attaching a tuxedo-ed man, a goth steampunk, demented clown makeup, and some impressively beautiful goth makeup. The high-school-esque bathroom experience of a bunch of strangers sharing black lipstick was particularly entertaining to me.
I can't really tell you which opener was which - the openers that Songkick listed were New Years Day, The Red Paintings, Pain, Spellborne, and Gi9. Pain is the only one that made sure everyone knew their name, and they were entertaining. I saw them outside later filming an interview, thanking their fans, and the lead singer brought his fiance and her friends on stage at the end. Despite the fake blood and zombie graphics, the experience felt wholesome from all the appreciation they were expressing to the crowd.
Of the other openers,
The Red Paintings evoked entirely opposite reactions from me and Eric. Eric LOVED them. He thought they were amazing. I thought they were talent-less poseurs - dressing up and pretending to have artistic sensibilities, but actually just aping them. Eric thought they were brilliant. Either way, they had an interesting stage show: The lead singer looked like a Bolshevik with a strange wig and an R2D2 backpack. There was a blue haired, kimono-clad violinist who happened to be his girlfriend, plus a couple other people who weren't as elaborately costumed. There were also a couple hired local artists in strange masks who painted throughout the set. One of the paintings was on the skin of a tall man wearing a bobble head of a Japanese girl. It reminded me of Of Montreal. The singer when on random rants about Australian politics.
I didn't make it though the entire
Birthday Massacre set - probably just the first half. I couldn't see anything (the lead singer is short, and the audience very thick.) I was exhausted, so I went to the car to sleep while I wanted for Eric to come out.
On Saturday, November 22, 2014, Eric and I were supposed to go to the New Pornographers, but our sitter fell through and another didn't pan out, so I sold the tickets. Meanwhile, Dana ended up with a spare to the Bleachers show in Baltimore, so I agreed to go with her.
The
Baltimore Soundstage was a great venue. It holds about 1,000 people (standing room) in a rectangle space that may be closer to a square. The stage is on the long side of the rectangle, giving more people a good view. There's a large platform in the back behind the sound booth with stools against the rail and great views. Mostly, 40+ age people (like us) hung out there. I was amazed that I didn't need the earplugs I always bring - maybe because we were on that platform, which is a little past the halfway point, or maybe because the sound technicians are fantastic. There were three bars, two of them with chandeliers over them that looked very nice. It's usually an all-ages club, and there's $10 parking next door - mere steps from the entrance. (You must have the box office voucher! Don't forget to pick one up on your way out!) We loved it. The only downside was the drive from DC, but frankly, it was worth it.
The opener was
Wild Cub, best known for their song
"Thunder Clatter." They looked like Ah Ha or extras from 16 Candles - very 80s hair. They are from Tennessee and SUPER appreciative, bouncy men. The memorable quote from the night was when the lead singer said "The true currency of music is when someone shares a song that is meaningful to them with someone else." Between the 80s hair, synth-heavy music, and hailing from Tennessee, they brought to mind my friend Shane from middle and high school days. So shout out to Shane if you read this.
Bleachers is the side-project of Jack Antonoff, one of the three members of the band Fun. Honestly, I didn't realize this until Dana told me, even though I've seen Fun live. No wonder Bleachers took off milliseconds after the release of "I Wanna Get Better." Jack is very comfortable on stage and a great performer, though he got long winded a few times. The extended showcase of each band member was torture to listen to. I thought it was sweet that they covered
"Good Morning Baltimore" (from John Water's musical Hairspray), and absolutely CRUEL that he made "I Wanna Get Better" the final song in the encore. According to Wikipedia, Bleachers is JUST a side project. There's no intent to break up Fun.
