The house lights went down and the guy next to me slid on his Rayban Wayfarers. "How hipster can you be?" I thought.
The band appeared on stage by walking through an illuminated doorway. They took their places, and with the first note, a bright, white light flashed straight into the face of the audience.
As I blinked and squinted at the stage I realized: that guy wasn't being pretentious—he was prepared.
Quickly the blinding light subsided and as soon as the crowd was able to regain its senses, everyone was dancing. This wasn't one of those shows where a few people self-consciously bob their heads along to the beat; every single person was in constant motion. The bright flashes of light would return at just the right times during the apex of a song to take that energy even further until the crowd was literally jumping.
The energy from the stage was just as hot. Three songs in and the band member's shirts were already soaked through with sweat.
Lead singer Dan Whitford enchanted the crowd with his awkward/cool dancing and chitchat. He would make interpretive motions with his arms and hands to the lyrics, which I found amusing. He frequently thanked the audience, his voice carrying a slight similarity to
Mr. G of Summer Heights High.
With that voice, he crooned the best from the band's most recent two albums, as well as "Saturdays" from their debut.
About halfway through the set he told the audience that the show was going to be turned up a notch. The dancing in the audience became more frenetic and carefree at the same time. I haven't sweat that much since P.E.
Still, my sweat-level was nothing compared to that of guitarist Tim Hoey. He played with his teeth, he played by jamming a drumstick through the strings, he played by mashing the face of the guitar against any surface he could find. He also played the maracas rather enthusiastically. At the end of the set he dove into the crowd with his tambourine in hand and surfed as he played the little chimes that no one could actually hear. At the end of it all I shook his slimy, sweaty hand—the evidence of a good night.
This was the third night in a row the band had played. Friday night was Coachella, Saturday was also at The Regency. It's amazing to me that night after night these guys can deliver. Whitford, however, was humble and attributed the success to the audience.
"When we said we wanted to play Sunday night too, they said it couldn't be done. They said we couldn't get people to come out on a Sunday night and get them to dance," he said. "Well, you proved them wrong."
**I was too busy dancing to get photos, so check some out here
