It’s not really fair to berate a Welsh rock star on matters of American geography—especially when many of the barely-pubescent American fans at his show would likely have trouble pointing out Wales on a map. But still, it was hard not to snicker when Los Campesinos! frontman, Gareth Campesinos, welcomed the crowd at 9:30 Clublast night, explaining that the band had “only played in Washington—or even D.C.—once before.”
The indie pop septet infiltrated the music blogosphere last year with back-to-back releases of critically acclaimed full-lengths, Hold On Now, Youngster..., and We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed. Los Campesinos! has been particularly well-received by the college radio set in the States, a fact that was in plain sight at last night’s show. The band effectively speaks to youthful curiosity, blending high-energy, silly pop with heartfelt emo in a multi-layered mélange of hook-heavy guitars, charging rhythms, lofty violin lines, and an occasional sprinkling of glockenspiel.
Opening the “early show”—a tough gig in a city where residents tend to work well past the 6:30 p.m. start time—were Chicago’s The Smith Westerns and San Francisco’s Girls. Though their sound is starkly different from the headliners', Girls tap into a familiar genre-crossing mindset. The band weaved in and out of form throughout its set, ranging from quirky doo-wop love ditties to riff-heavy hard rock shrieks, though it unfortunately avoided the intriguing world in between. Though Girls could certainly benefit from a tighter, less amorphous sound, singer Chris Owens’ vocals held the set together with Conor Oberst-esque fragility and sincerity.
Los Campesinos! came out of the gates in a dead sprint, letting the glock-rock flow early with “This Is How You Spell ‘HAHAHA, We Destroyed The Hopes And Dreams Of A Generation Of Faux-Romantics.’” Throughout the set, the baby-faced frontman belted out humorous (and at times latently gloomy) lyrics while twirling his solitary mallet like a magic wand, sounding cowbells, glocks, and tom-toms like a drunk Ron Weasley in a Guitar Center.
Earlier this year, the band announced that singer and keyboardist Aleks Campesinos would leave Los Campesinos! upon completion of their current tour to pursue a degree in medicine. It only took the crowd three songs to bring the unfortunate news to bear, pleading “Aleks! Don’t leave!” during the transition from “Ways To Make It Through The Wall” to “Drop It Doe Eyes”—two songs that showcase the singer’s soothing, satiny chops.
This outburst seemed to spark an unusually intimate relationship between the performers and the audience for the rest of the night. By the time the set reached “You! Me! Dancing!” any shred of inhibitions in the crowd had dissipated, igniting a raucous dance party fueled by choreographed clapping and an illuminated disco ball. Even Gareth appeared to be impressed by the scene, multitasking during the song’s refrain by unsheathing a digital camera from his pocket and casually snapping a few photos of his fans. In closing the set with “Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks,” Gareth ventured out into the crowd, nearly making it to the rear sound booth before being tugged back to the stage by the taut microphone chord. And as the final chord reverberated from the band’s encore, “Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats,” the frontman returned to the pit, casually slithering through a sea of confused fans and eventually hopping behind the merch booth to greet fans as the house lights went on.
It’s not every day you can witness a kid sheepishly buy the LP of a show’s opening band from the lead singer of the headlining band—at least not at 9:30 Club. Well played, Mr. Campesinos.
http://www.avclub.com/dc/articles/los-campesinos-at-930-club%2C31356/
No comments:
Post a Comment