Month of Music: Energy
Gogol Bordello/Throw Rag/Scotch Greens, Ottobar.
I worry about people who can't like Gogol Bordello.Those people don't
know how to have fun. (Actually, my husband doesn't - he thinks they
are fakers, even to the extent of thinking they are not really
Ukrainian/gypsies/whatever.) This is the 3rd time I've seen them, but
the first time with a big crowd. A big, moshing crowd. Punks, Moms,
Nerds, Regular People, young and old, dancing like their life depended
on it. It was so hot in the Ottobar, beers were flying, feet were
dancing, I loved it! The only drawback was a little bit of "hipper
than thou" going on - my favorite was this guy who was hitting on a
woman by saying "Oh, you work for Fader? That's the first place I
heard about these guys, 8 months ago." I wanted to say, "I first heard
about them in the oh-so-hip New York Times 3 years ago." Yeah, I know
I'm losing my edge, but I WAS THERE. (More on that later.) Opener
Throw Rag intrigued me because of their poster advertising Lemmy and
Jello Biafra on their cd. They ACTED like they were great, but in
fact, they were rather awful. I see they are from the California
Desert, which means they, like fellow desert dwellers QOTSA before
them, are just dreadful poseurs. Scotch Greens = Rancid cover band.
Sage Francis, Ottobar.
Sage was my big discovery at Coachella this year, and yes, I know I'm
a bit late to this party. It was great to see the bar sold out, and
everyone knowing all the words. Sage told his usual silly jokes, ( I
think it was, "How many emo kids does it take to change a light bulb?
1 to change the bulb and 4 to cry about it."). He also had incredibly
strong, political raps, and the crowd was singing right along with
them. Rappers Grand Buffet(coming back to the Ottobar in February)
also did a guest set, and they were more hilarious. The whole tour was
sponsored by knowmore.org, a worthy group for certain. While I was
there, I thought it was all so cute that people actually think that
they can make corporations clean up their act. Later, however, I found
a bit of energy to do some boycotting of my own - maybe Wal-Mart isn't
going out of business because I won't buy anything at Wal-Mart, but at
least I can sleep better at night.
LCD Soundsystem/The Juan McLean, Sonar.
Somewhere recently (on MAD-TV or Saturday Night Live maybe?) I
remember a skit about how the nostalgia curve kept shrinking, and
eventually people would be looking back fondly at the day before
yesterday. That is how I felt at this show. If this show had been over
the summer, it would have been huge. As it were, I felt like it was a
retro act, even though the cd has barely been out 6 months. First, The
Juan McLean show that even though their cd appears to be about dancing
and having fun, they are deadly serious about it (see !!!)These people
all need to take something out of the Junior/Senior or Fischerspooner
playbook and have a sense of humor already. Secondly, while I, as an
old person, appreciate a show that ends at a decent hour and doesn't
meander on endlessly, is it too much to ask of a headliner that they
play more than 6 songs, 1 of which was a cover?An awesome cover of
Nilsson's "Jump into the Fire." but a cover nonetheless. It felt more
like a set that would be part of the Mix106 Jingle Bell Jam or some
other showcase show. Plenty of cowbell, plenty of dancing, and "Losing
my Edge" is one of the great songs of the '00s, but all in all, a
shadow of what I had been expecting. Time for a new trend!
posted by jamie @ 7:42 PM
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