The Horrors, 19 May 2009, The Fillmore

My last post was lackluster, I'll admit. I just couldn't bring myself to write down the fact that the show wasn't entirely enjoyable. I love The Horrors. Apparently their fans can be assholes, though. This crowd had a handful of the weirdest and most obnoxious people I've ever shared a dance floor with, and it just about ruined it for me.

To make up for this I want to remember the good times I had when I saw the band live for the first time, back in 2009. The Horrors were opening for The Kills and it was one of the best times of my life.

First, I must say that I rather enjoy attending a show where I like the opening band better than the headliner. The crowd may not be as worked up as I am, but there's something wonderful in having people give you breathing room while watching the performance.

The songs on "Primary Colors" are the perfect mix of atmosphere and rock, making it a true experience to witness live. "Scarlett Fields" is one of my favorite tracks because of this show. I will always remember seeing Faris Badwan stuffing the strobe light under his shirt, holding it to his body while the rest of the room was in darkness as he sang, "See yourself, an image in the eyes of someone else." The fleeting light paired with the music was beautifully haunting.

This is the image of The Horrors that I want to remember. The last show was a good performance, but the atmosphere of that night in The Fillmore couldn't be matched.

*Here are some grainy as hell photos from the show, which are actually just stills from some grainy as hell video. Obviously, I lacked a decent camera at the time.

Grabbing the strobe light

The Horrors, 10 Sept. 2011, Bimbo's 365

Poor lighting made it difficult to get a decent non-flash photo, and the quality of the uploads make them seem darker than when I look at the originals. Oh well! Hope you enjoy them anyway.

 

Cut Copy, 17 April 2011, Regency Ballroom in San Francisco

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

The Walkmen, with Dan Mangan and Japandroids, 14 Sept. 2010

At The Fillmore, San Francisco

This was the fourth time I have seen The Walkmen perform, and each time has been brilliant.

Over the years, The Walkmen have become one of my favorite bands. It came as a bit of a surprise to me because they don’t stand out or have a distinct signature sound that I can pinpoint, but they have been consistently good without being redundant.

The show kicked off with Dan Mangan, who played upbeat indie folk that got the crowd cheering and moving; a rarity for a relatively unknown opening act, in my experience. To close the set, Mangan played the song “Robots,” and he coaxed the crowd into singing along.

“Robots need love too,” the audience cooed. “They want to be loved by you, they want to be loved by you.”

He jumped down into the crowd and played next to audience members like they were old friends at a local gig.

The tone changed dramatically when Japandroids stepped onto the stage.

Everything about their set reminded of a high school garage band.

Fuzzed out guitar and crashing drums created as much noise as they could muster.

Guitarist Brian King snapped his head about so frenetically that I could only be amazed that he managed to keep his balance throughout the set.

After each song, King quickly inserted an awkward “thank you” to the audience. Considering the amount of buzz this band has been receiving, their earnestness made me think they truly had just stepped straight out of their parents’ garage.

These two strong opening acts were a great build up to The Walkmen.

Out of all the times I have seen them play, I felt that this was their best set. The song choices were spot on, mixing the best tracks from their previous albums with plenty from Lisbon, which was released that day.

When the opening melody from “We’ve Been Had” started to play on the piano, I could feel the smile appear on my face. It’s one of my favorites, and the rest of the crowd loved it too.

One young woman in the audience was particularly excited throughout the set.

“I love you, Hamilton!” she shrieked between sips of beer. “You’re the love of my life!”

Paul Maroon, who way playing piano at the time, overheard this profession and grimaced. My friend had the same reaction and they made eye contact as they shared one of those moments when you know exactly what the other person is thinking, because you’re thinking the same thing too.

The girl continued to declare her love throughout the set while the band did their best to ignore her. At one point a man in the audience mimicked her and shouted loving praise to the band, and everyone on that side of the audience couldn’t help but laugh.

Despite the distractions, the band played perfectly and kept the crowd dancing.

To end the night, they played their encore standard and fan favorite, “The Rat.”

Photos courtesy of Rachel at ohdeerly.blogspot.com, with some editing by me