LIVE: Wilco w/ Conor Oberst @ Wolf Trap, 7/8

LINK TO BYT

Wilco’s been my number one favorite band for almost two years now, so I’ve done all the standard obsessive-fan stuff. I’ve seen their documentaries, I own hard copies of all their music, I stalk the website, I have multiple live recordings (which I compare and contrast endlessly). My iTunes play count tells me they’re my most-listened artist in my library. I’ve only seen them once before, but seeing as I’ve heard so many bootlegs, I sort of get what it to be expected from a live Wilco show: AWESOMENESS.

I know people like calling Wilco dad-rock (and based one the age and gender of the audience, I’d say that’s a pretty apt title…) but I think that’s misleading in that it makes you think they are boring when they are anything but. Every album they write is completely different from the one before yet they are all distinctly Wilco. Live, they are simply spectacular. Each member is ridiculously talented so when they jam they can take the music so much farther than other, younger bands can. Even though the line-up of Wilco has shifted considerably in their 15 year existence, the current roster is so uniform and tight you’d think they’ve been playing together since they were babies.

Anyway. Back to the start…

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band opened the show. Unlike Alyssa, who made her distaste for Conor Oberst very clear, I have been a fan for a while. I vividly remember my sister getting me a copy of “I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning” for my birthday in 7th grade, and I listened to it over and over and over again. I still like it. He may be a bit overrated in terms of the whole “Bob Dylan of Our Generation” thing, but that doesn’t make me dislike his music. I got the first Conor Oberst solo album last year and loved the more folksy tone and I love how much further he went with the country on the Mystic Valley Band album, “Outer South.” Live, I was quite impressed. The band opened with the one-two punch of “Danny Callahan” and “NYC- Gone, Gone.” Both songs were so much more lively on stage- especially “NYC,” which I didn’t love on the album but I now have a much greater appreciation for. The thing I most loved about the band’s set was that the sounded and looked like they were having a great time. I always imagined that Conor Oberst onstage would be depressing and bleak, but their set felt more like a sunny, awesome hoedown.

So now back to Wilco. As usual, I was blown away. After a tacky (but awesome) Price Is Right theme song intro, the band launched into the goofy (but awesome) “Wilco (the song).” From that point on, the show was all about having fun. The crowd was full of big fans who just wanted to hear their favorite band play some sweet songs, jam out a little bit, and then start all over. The long set contained cuts as old as “Misunderstood” and as new as “Deeper Down,” from their latest release, “Wilco (the album).” I was expecting the set to be mostly full of new tracks but the band did a good job of picking pretty evenly from their albums, save “A.M.,” which I believe was unrepresented.

Wilco has so many mopey, contemplative songs it’s hard to believe they can be so fun and free live, but I don’t think there was a single moment when someone could have looked over and seen me without a smile on my face. The fact that Wolf Trap is a great venue and the weather was perfect only added to the wonderful summer night.

Wilco set list:

• Wilco (the song)
• Shot in the Arm
• At Least That’s What You Said
• Bull Black Nova
• You Are My Face
• I’m Trying to Break Your Heart
• One Wing
• How To Fight Loneliness
• Impossible Germany
• Deeper Down
• Jesus Etc.
• Sonny Feeling
• Handshake Drugs
• Hate It Hear
• Walken
• I’m the Man Who Loves You
• Hummingbird
• ———-
• You Never Know
• Heavy Metal Drummer
• Misunderstood
• Spiders(kidsmoke)
• I’m a Wheel

LIVE: Passion Pit w/ The Harlem Shakes @ Black Cat, 6/9

When this show ended last night at 11:25, less than an hour after Passion Pit started playing, I felt both awesome and sort of bad.

First the awesome parts…

I missed Cale Parks, but I saw a bunch of people buying his merch, so I’ll assume he was awesome. Go Cale Parks!

Next were the Harlem Shakes, who were fantastic and wonderful and adorable. Their music is so fun and bouncy, it was a great way to not only kick off the show, but to kick off the summer (I’m officially done with junior year! Yeah!). The crowd was sort of chatty during their set, but the band played loud enough that it didn’t matter. Plus, enough people there were clearly fans. This one guy next to me knew every word and danced like a maniac the whole time. Another awesome thing about the band is that they had a guy play the flute. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people dance to a song with flute in it. The Shakes played cuts off of their EP, “Burning Birthdays,” as well as their new album “Technicolor Health.” If you don’t already own “Technicolor Health” you are a huge fool. It a perfect summer album and it’s pretty much all I’ve listened to for the past week and a half.

Of course, the band that everybody came to see was Passion Pit. The second the group walked out on stage, everybody in the Cat went nuts. People were pogo-ing and dancing like crazy to every song. If you had never heard them before, it would appear that every song was a single because every time PP launched into a new track the crowd went berserk as if the four minutes of this song would be the best four minutes of their life. Before the show I’d heard that PP was pretty weak live but after this show I COMPLETELY disagree. They sounded great and they brought more energy into the show than a lot of bands I’ve seen.

Now for the bad parts…

I missed Cale Parks, but I saw a bunch of people buying his merch, so I’ll assume he was awesome. Wish I could have heard his set.

The Harlem Shakes were robbed that morning in Richmond (”The most annoying thing that could happen ever,” according to one of the members after the show), so they had to play a few songs acoustic. While they definitely sounded better electric, they never let the acoustic-ness bring the energy level down. This doesn’t really qualify as a “bad part,” it was just sort of a bummer. I still love them.

The most disappointing part of the show, however, came when Passion Pit ended their set at 11:25, less than an hour after they began playing. In fact, I think they played closer to about 40 minutes. So yeah, they packed an insane amount of energy into those 40 minutes, but when you’re the headlining act at a sold out show, don’t you think you should play longer than the opener? And at least have an encore longer than just one song? I enjoyed their set so much, but the fact that it was so short put a bit of a damper on it. I mean seriously, I saw Bruce Springsteen a few weeks ago and he’s more than twice as old as these guys, but he played for THREE HOURS without stopping. Granted, he has a lot more material, but between “Chunk of Change” and “Manners,” these guys easily could have added five or six more songs to the set. At the end of the show I heard a lot of people saying great things about the band, but I also heard a lot of people griping that the played for such a short amount of time (One guy was hanging around the stage so he could ask the band why they never played “Seaweed Song.” He was all fired up. “They never played Seaweed Song, did you notice that?? Why didn’t they play it?! It’s only 11:25, why did they stop?!”)

Thoughts? Should they have played longer? Is such a short set to be expected from a band with only one full-length and one EP?

Overall I really enjoyed the show. Fun and high-energy. I just wish that Passion Pit had kept going a little longer.

Bruce Springsteen LIVE at the Verizon Center- 5/18/09

I know this review is almost a week late, but whatever...

The morning after Bruce Springsteen's killer performance at the Super Bowl, my friend Jenna and I ran to the newspaper room at school, logged on to a computer, and bought tickets to see his show at the Verizon Center at precisely 10:00AM. I was on the phone with my dad, who was at home, and had instructions to do the same thing, and we compared which seats each of us got. My dad was shut out, but Jenna and I nabbed tickets in the second tier. After service charges, each was about $120, which beats Kanye West for the most I've ever spent on a ticket.

Luckily, it was worth it. I'm by no means a diehard Springsteen fan, but seeing him live was an incredible experience that even I could appreciate. Bruce and the E Street Band went on stage at about 8:20 and didn't stop playing for a full three hours. With a lot of shows, I'm ready for the set to end at about the two hour mark, but with Bruce, I could have stayed hours longer. Even with an average age of 58, the E Street Band had more energy than most college-aged dance bands. The performed wonderfully together (duh, they're all extremely talented) and they seemed to be having the time of their lives on stage.

Based on my experience with concerts in sports arenas, I wasn't expecting too much crowd interaction. However, Bruce interacted more with the audience than bands in even the smallest venues. He shook hands, walked around the floor, and, in my favorite part of the show, took requests. People on the floor held up colorful signs with requests on them and Bruce ran around picking them up. Then, he sifted through them and chose which the band would play. The most memorable (besides "Hava Nagila," of course) was a sign that said "Jonas Brothers, Shmonas Brothers. Cool 9-year-olds like 'Out In the Street.'" Seeing this sign, Bruce called out to whoever made it, and then proceeded to lift the adorable 9-year-old girl on stage and let her sing part of the song. Jenna and I agree that this will probably be the number one moment of her life forever, surpassing her wedding day and birth of any children. She got to sing with Bruce! Nothing beats that!

My favorite song of the show was "Rosalita," which Bruce played last after seeing a sign that said "Obama called, he wants Rosie." It was the final song of the finale, and a great way to end the night.

Despite loving the show, I have two main gripes. First of all, the sound was a bit muddy, especially in the beginning. Instruments bled into each other making some songs relatively unlistenable. The sound either improved as the night went on, or I stopped caring. My second complaint is that "Working On A Dream" is a pretty bad album, and every time the band played cuts from it, it was clear that people just cared less. Boo.

Anyway...great show, great experience. I can now cross "See Bruce Springsteen" off my Life List. But before I do that I need to add "See Bruce Springsteen Again."

Setlist:
Badlands
No Surrender
Outlaw Pete
She's the One
Working on a Dream
Seeds
Johnny 99
The Ghost of Tom Joad
Raise Your Hand
Out in the Street
Little Latin Lupe Lu
Hava Nagila/Blinded By the Light
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
The Promised Land
The Wrestler
Kingdom of Days
Radio Nowhere
Lonesome Day
The Rising
Born to Run
* * *
Hard Times
Kitty's Back
Land of Hope and Dreams
American Land
Rosalita

Summer Concert Schedule

I've got a really fun summer lined up with cool internships and a job for three weeks at my favorite place in the world, a camp in Pennsylvania. In addition, I am seeing quite a few concerts. Here's the list so far...

June 8|| The Decemberists w/ Andrew Bird
June 9|| TV on the Radio w/ the Dirty Projectors
June 11|| Taylor Swift
July 8|| Wilco w/ Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band
July 11|| Bugs Bunny Live!
July 29|| Fleet Foxes
July 30|| M. Ward
August 5|| Slightly Stoopid w/ Snoop Dogg
August 7|| O.A.R. w/ Matt Nathanson
August 15|| Phish

Pretty much all of those, except for Fleet Foxes, are definites. Hopefully I'll also see the Killers, Rock the Bells, and anything else that comes up. Plus I might see Passion Pit instead of TVOTR if I can find someone to go with me...

New Live Coldplay- LeftRightLeftRightLeft

Coldplay just kicked off yet another tour, signifying the third Viva La Vida tour I have not been able to attend. I have a theory that the bands hates me. For last summer's tour, I was able to go, but then they rescheduled to the day after I left to work in PA. For their fall tour, the show was the night before I had to take the SAT. This time around, it's on a Thursday night the same week that I'm seeing Bruce Springsteen (my parents don't let me see concerts on weeknighs, so Bruce is a big deal) and the same night as my school's Spring Fair, which I help organize. So yeah, they hate me.

For this tour, Chris Martin & Co. put together a live album called "LeftRightLeftRightLeft," which they will be giving away for free at shows and for free download for those they hate/can't attend. I just downloaded it this morning and I loooove it. I am an unabashed Coldplay fan and as someone who has only heard stories of their live show (After I missed last summer's tour, my friend sent me a pages long email complete with setlist, her song-by-song review, and a link to videos. It's why we're friends.) this album will have to do. It's great to hear them sounding so good live, and the crowd seems really into it (necessary). I'm so glad that they included "Strawberry Swing," which might be my favorite track off of "Viva La Vida" (it's definitely my most-listened).

Download it now HERE.

The link's been a bit testy, but I'm sure if you google around, you can find a torrent of it.

Demetri Martin Live at the Warner Theater- 4/11/09

When Mitch Hedberg died in 2005, he left behind a void in the comedy world for witty, observational one-liners to be told with awkward bemusement. While no one can ever live up to Hedberg's legacy in that department, Demetri Martin is doing a pretty good job. Through his stand-up shows and his great Comedy Central series "Important Things with Demetri Martin," Martin has breathed new life into the genre. During his show Saturday at the Warner Theater, Martin's one-liners were on full, hilarious display.

Taking the stage at promptly 10:30 while wearing a white t-shirt with the slogan "Person" in block letters, Martin had the crowd at "Hello." His jokes, told at a steady pace but leaving enough room in between to allow for laughter from the audience, were spot on and fresh- there were only three or four repeats from his show.

When Martin moved to his signature "Large Pad," a, duh, large pad of paper, to do jokes centered around minimalistic charts and sketches, the fanboys in the audience went crazy with anticipation. They were appeased when jokes about correlations between karaoke and skiing (both are more entertaining when the person is either amazing or awful) were hysterical. Similarly, when Martin grabbed his guitar or sat down at his keyboard to perform jokes with musical accompaniment and crowd was extremely appreciative and Martin returned the favor with more witty lines. Toward the end of the set he took requests for old and popular jokes. Despite the fact that I'd already heard them, I couldn't help but laugh more. His observations are still funny the third time over.

I know some people who don't care for Martin's comedy, but I find him easy to love. Between his moptop haircut and smiling delivery, I can't help but laugh at everything that comes out of his mouth. He just seems like the type of person you always want to be hanging out with. He even has no douchebag tolerance! There were a few loudmouthed drunks present at the show who kept shouting things at him, but Demetri's responses were always dead-on and hilarious. When one girl was shouting something about her fiance, Martin asked her name, she said "Katherine." He responded saying, "Katherine with a 'K,' a 'C,' or a 'S-H-U-T-U-P'?" When a few guys in the balcony were shouting annoyingly, Martin asked if there was a douchebag-only entrance in the back that he was unaware of.

Anyway, my friends and I laughed for a solid two hours during the show to the point that our torsos were hurting. If you aren't already a follower, check out Demetri's Comedy Central show (it just ended but I'm sure there will be re-runs this summer).

**I know this isn't a music review, but he played guitar and stuff so it counts!

Neko Case Live MP3's

In case you don't feel like listening to the entire NPR podcast of Neko Case's Thursday night show at the 9:30 Club, here's a few MP3's. Which should then entice you to listen to the whole show.

Maybe Sparrow (Live)- Neko Case
People Got A Lotta Nerve (Live)- Neko Case
The Pharaohs (Live)- Neko Case
Middle Cyclone (Live)- Neko Case

I've spliced the entire podcast and turned them into MP3's so if anyone is interested in a CD copy of the show, just shoot me an email.

Neko Case Live at the 9:30 Club- 4/9/09

For those who don't know me well, allow me to get some things out in the open: I'm completely obsessed with Neko Case. I want to be her friend, I want to be a member of her band, I want to be HER.

Anyway. Neko performed two nights straight in support of her latest incredible album "Middle Cyclone." I saw her tonight (I am writing this immediately after the Thursday show...it is late...) and she killed it.

But more on that in a minute. First, let's talk about Okkervil River's Will Sheff, who opened the night with seven or eight song set of Okkervil River favorites. Sheff performed most of the tunes with just an acoustic guitar, but an electric guitarist joined him for the last few (I believe the man's name was Phil because I recall a joke about naming their two-man band "Okkerphil River"). Performing with such little accompaniment, Sheff's great songwriting ability was on full display. Songs like "Plus Ones" and "Pop Lie" sounded slightly more intimate, despite Sheff strumming furiously and singing with his signature bleating vocals, while "Lost Coastlines" and set-closer "Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe" were surprisingly muscular despite the two-dude line-up. The rough edges of the songs live made the tracks seem more like unpolished garage-rock than the high-concept, well-orchestrated folk-pop from Okkervil River albums. "On Tour With Zykos" and "Just Give Me Time" were hushed and gorgeous on stage but the chatty crowd made it hard to appreciate them. One audience member mentioned loudly that Okkervil River makes him want to "shoot himself in the face." I respectfully disagree, sir. I thoroughly enjoyed Will Sheff's set and it made me excited to see him perform with the full band.


Then came Neko.

As she sings in one of my favorite tracks off of "Middle Cyclone," Neko Case is an animal, indeed. Dressed in all-black but sporting her signature mane of red hair in an untamed, tangled mess , Case looked like the tiger she sings about the haunting "The Tigers Have Spoken." Unlike that tiger, however, Neko is unchained and completely wild. Between her awkward but hilarious stage banter about making out with the Grim Reaper and breaking her nose, she sang with such a pure, mesmerizing clarity that I was captivated from the first note of "Maybe Sparrow" up through the last punch of "Knock Loud."

It's tough to say where Neko Case is most in her element. She is equally rousing in garage-band jams like "Red Tide" and "Fever" as she is stunning in slower ballads like "I Wish I Was The Moon" and "Middle Cyclone." It really just comes down to, as usual, the voice. Every time she opened her mouth to belt a note I could feel the anticipation in the room- everyone was waiting to hear that ribbon of voice that was strong and gentle and quiet and loud and war and peace all at once. Every note she sang was so emotive and gorgeous that the songs were completely transformed.

"Prison Girls," the spooky dirge from "Middle Cyclone," was so haunting live that I got goosebumps. Of the covers she played, Harry Nilsson cover "Don't Forget Me" became an intimate, loungey love song (as the song started and Case stood beneath the soft blue lights, she cheekily dedicated the song to "my darling Harry") and "Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth" transformed into a rough, spirited folk song. "This Tornado Loves You" was especially invigorating live. It felt urgent and sincere despite being a love song written from the perspective of a natural disaster.

I could go on like this about everything Neko Case sang- it was all gorgeous and spell-binding. Hearing her sing made me think of how I watched American Idol for the first time in years on Tuesday night. All of the performers had such bland voices already, but compared to Case's, they sound like how oatmeal would if it could sing. Boring, mushy, and all the same. I'd never seen Neko live before but now I've fallen in love. She's incredibly dynamic and talented and all that and more comes across brilliantly on stage.

Of course I can't mention the show without giving props to her fantastic band (I don't know if they're still called her Boyfriends, so I'll just say they're her band). Each member ebbed and flowed perfectly with Case and they had the flawless synergy of a band who has been playing together for decades.

In case you didn't figure it out from the above love letter, GO SEE NEKO CASE LIVE NOW. She is a force of nature.

Also, if you missed the show, stream it on NPR!!! CLICK

**This review rambles a lot etc. but in my defense it is one in the morning and I am exhausted. Goodnight.

***If anyone's interested in the set list (for Will Sheff or Neko Case) email me- I got both.

*****PHOTOS STOLEN FROM JOEL DIDRIKSEN VIA NPR. KINGPINPHOTO.COM*****

No Shame- Snow Patrol

**Part of a new column where I talk about musical pleasures that I am not at all guilty about.**

I don't care if this makes you dislike me as a person/you stop reading my blog- I really like Snow Patrol. I have listened to "Eyes Open" and "Final Straw" many, many times, and enjoyed both many, many times. In fact, "Eyes Open" was probably my favorite (and most-listened) album in 9th grade.

Anyway, when I saw Snow Patrol in concert two years ago, I was blown away. My friends and I got to the venue (which was actually the basketball arena at a local university) hours before doors opened. After playing countless rounds of Egyptian Rat Screw and War and befriending the girls behind us in line, the line started moving and we ran to get a good spot in the arena. And, of course, we did. We were front and center for the whole show.

The first act was Silversun Pickups. They played the very loud, very distorted pop that made "Carnavas" such a masterpiece with incredible energy, giving the show a huge kick in the right direction.

Then came OK Go. I had never seen them live before, but my friends and I instantly fell in love (especially with frontman Damien Kulash, who later stage-dove right on top of us. Awesome.). We danced and sang-along throughout their entire set and by the time they were done playing the lively, dynamic power-pop the group is known for, we were pleastantly exhausted.

Then, of course, came Snow Patrol. WOW. I still remember their set perfectly even though it was a full two years ago. The whole thing, from first note to last "Goodnight DC!" was spell-binding. Each song packed such a powerful punch of emotion that it sounded simutaneously like we were listening to the music through headphones alone and in a massive stadium. I've only heard U2 live once (when they played two songs at the "We Are One" concert for Barack Obama in January) but that is the best comparison I can make. Everyone in the room was captivated by their music. If frontman Gary Lightbody held his hands up during a song, each member of the devoted crowd would do the same. At one point, Lightbody copped a move frmo OK Go and asked the audience to hold up their cellphones for "Chasing Cars." My friends and I turned around to see if people complied, and yes, they most definitely did. The effect was mesmerizing. Not only was the massive audience singing every word of the (call it sappy, whatever...) single, every fan was holding a glowing little light that transformed what could have been an average concert moment into a simply perfect four minutes. Seeing Snow Patrol live, especially at the height of my fandom, felt like a religious experience.

While my love for the band has waned (Don't even bother with their new album, "A Hundred Million Suns." Ugh.) this show still stands as one of the best I've ever seen. Now, listening to "Eyes Open" after hearing the album live is difficult to do. I'm always taken back to that arena and reminded that everything sounded a million times better in those few hours.

Archive.org

I'm a big fan of live recordings, especially for groups like Wilco, My Morning Jacket, or Grace Potter- artists and bands who sound and play with much more feeling and verve on stage. One of my favorite sources for downloading live sets is Archive.org. The live music archive portion of the site counts thousands of live sets from bands ranging from Against Me to Umphrey's McGee. Not to mention the Grateful Dead have their own separate section of the site.

Happy downloading.

New Gomez: "Very Strange"

I've been a fan of Gomez since their 2006 ATO release "How We Operate." They make catchy rock for fans of Pete Yorn and DMB but with a slightly Britpop twist. They've got a new album, "A New Tide," out Tuesday. Here's the first single, titled "Very Strange," as well as "Little Pieces," which was featured on Grey's Anatomy this week.
Very Strange- Gomez
Little Pieces- Gomez

Gomez is also a really great live band, and they have a lot of concerts up on Archive.org. One of the better ones is from three years ago at the Fillmore. CLICK.

Wilco Live Review- Rewrite

Hey all. I rewrote my Wilco review for the school paper. Here's the new version. Thoughts?

Baltimore's Lyric Opera House is a gorgeous building even better sound, and alt.country band Wilco took full advantage of that last Sunday with a tight set that was evenly culled from their six studio albums.

The group’s 24-song, two-encore show was stuffed with new favorites like the bluesy “Hate It Here” as well as older cuts reaching back to their 1995 debut “A.M.” (the rollicking “Box Full of Letters” was a highlight). Even though the line-up has changed considerably since their inception, the sextet played as if they've been together their whole lives. Loose songs got looser, loud songs got louder, and everything just sounded how music is supposed to sound.

After opening with the mellow, harmonica-tinged “Sunken Treasure,” Jeff Tweedy & Co. got the extremely receptive crowd even more enthusiastic by wedging scorching jams into many of their songs. The audience hit its peak when the band segued from “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” opener “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” to 11-minute jam “Spiders (Kidsmoke),” which showcased guitarist Nels Cline’s absurd ability to shred.

One of the most compelling things about Wilco’s live performance is how rather than jamming melodically, their songs morph into beautifully dissonant soundscapes. "Spiders" was the best example of that, but set closers "I Got You (At The End of the Century)" and "Outtasite (Outta Mind)" also built skyscrapers of wonderfully orchestrated noise, with Cline’s blistering solos and chord progressions at the vanguard.

Aside from the stellar music, Tweedy's stage banter was right on point. After noticing a man with a neck brace, he asked if he could wear it and the sported it throughout "Kingpin.” Tweedy elicited loud cheers when he forgot a line in "Jesus Etc." and later explained it was because he was thinking about Baltimore-set television show “The Wire,” and wondering if popular character Omar was at the concert.

Tweedy didn't babble too much, and let the music speak for itself. "California Stars" and "Heavy Metal Drummer" got the crowd to sing-along while older numbers like "Forget the Flowers" and the twangy "It's Just That Simple" were extremely well-received by the appreciative crowd.
The band has immense talent, not just in songwriting but in execution and sheer ability. Each member was on point, adding muscle to even the most lighthearted and jaunty song (the peppy "Walken" was especially strong on stage). Wilco is currently on tour opening for Neil Young, but they made a special stop to headline their own show and proved that one day Neil Young could be opening for them.


Picture stolen with love from Charles Harris. If you want me to take it down, just ask!

Dan Deacon- Live Show Review

Dan Deacon finally assumed his post beneath his signature “trippy green skull” at an equipment-littered table an hour after his 9:00 set was scheduled to begin. The crowd, while frustrated, couldn’t stay mad for long. After leading his fans in a stretching routine that involved kneeling on the floor and extending their index fingers to the sky as slowly as possible, Deacon began a New Year’s Eve-worthy countdown and pronounced it time to dance, launching into his hyper single, “Okie Dokie.” The then appeased audience forgot all qualms and began to jump and move with hyperactivity that rivaled that of the song.

Deacon, a Baltimore-based DJ who founded the city’s Wham City artist collective, is known more for his insane live shows than his albums. His most recent release, the stellar Spiderman of the Rings, showed up on many Best Of 2007 lists, but his raucous performance at the Hirshhorn Museum as part of its After Hours program completely overshadowed any of his records.

The show played out like the best Bar Mitzvah ever, with Dan Deacon playing the part of the DJ, party-starter and guest-of-honor. His pre-show stretch was only the beginning of the activities he would guide his fans through. Within the first forty minutes, Deacon started a dance contest (encouraging participants to “dance with sass”), set up a race around the perimeter of the outdoor Hirshhorn atrium (a venture that brought the wrath of an unhappy police officer, who threatened to shut the show down, eliciting jeers from the crowd), and devised a man-made tunnel that the audience was instructed to run through and then re-form at the end, resulting in a human burrow that snaked around the entire atrium.

Deacon’s frenzied show, complete with games and beats that made citizens of the notoriously reluctant-to-dance D.C. shake and hop with caffeinated intensity, fit the setting of the Hirshhorn, which often house curious modern art, perfectly. As proven by his distinct live show, Deacon is something of a curiosity himself. Living up to his citizenship of Charm City, Deacon won over a crowd that was initially irked by his tardiness with flying colors.

Fleet Foxes Live

So I chose to go to the Fleet Foxes show last night instead of tonight's No Age show. And while I suppose that No Age could be a life-altering concert, I'm more than pleased with my decision. Fleet Foxes were (question: would Fleet Foxes be plural or singular? i.e. Foxes was or Foxes were?) fantastic live. Despite their supposedly ill front man (he had a steaming mug of tea by his stool. Not to mention he was dressed in multiple layers of flannel and wore a knit hat. This was July. In a hot and sweaty club.) they played a very impressive set that in every way lived up to their blogged-out hype. The harmonies on songs like "White Winter Hymnal" were gorgeous, and the band sounded better than they do on their flawless self-titled LP. The aforementioned tea-sippin' front man's vocals blew me away. I can't help but wonder (That sounded like Carrie Bradshaw. Well, I did see the Sex and the City movie two nights ago. Is this the only blog post in history that mentions Fleet Foxes and SatC in the same sentence? Probably.) what he sounds like when he's not congested and coughing. The band was clearly humbled by what they called a "staggering" sold-out crowd. After each song they sincerely thanked the audience, who in turn was very receptive to the music and the quintet. It was a pleasure seeing Fleet Foxes for the first time in a small-scale venue, because I predict that they will be selling out larger clubs in the not-so-distant future.

NPR recorded the show and it can be heard here.

They didn't allow flash photography last night, and my camera is crappy (thus it does not function well without a flash), but I got a few semi-decent shots:

Rufus Wainwright Live @ 9:30 Club, Dec. 21

Fantastic show, as expected. It was Rufus solo; just him and his piano (and guitar). He had a great set, and his voice was top notch, as was his snarky sense of humor.