February 22, 2005
Great Paul Weller's Ghost!*
I went with N.M. (who has the pictures) and K.G. to see the Futureheads at the 9:30 Club last night and to promote bluestate, which I shouldn't have to remind you is more important than being well-rested on a Thursday morning.
Monday's gig was the first show in the Futureheads' North American tour, and the first U.S. show ever for the Shout Out Louds, Sweden's answer to the question "I wonder if there is a band from Scandanavia that sounds like Stellarstar, but with more of that helpless emo vibe we all love so much?"
I usually try to check out the openers just in case some awesome band on their way to stardom starts off toiling away at 8:30 as everyone shuffles in. This wasn't the case last night, so I'll spare you descriptions of their musical styles and just mock their style.
High Speed Scene: If you fancy yourself the lead singer of a New Wave band to the point that you announce that you will play some more "New Wave hits" in the middle of your set, ditch the Spicoli surfer burnout look. Also, when you play your "power ballad" (also very New Wave), don't invite people to take out their lighters. They'll do that if they feel like it.
Shout Out Louds: Meet Adam, probable winner of the 2002 Stockholm Rivers Cuomo Lookalike Contest, if such a thing existed.
Now on to the Futureheads. I can't help but think that these guys remind me of The Jam, in many of the same ways so many new bands today remind me of Joy Division. Sure, their harmonies and start-stop song structure make them a unique band, but I'll be danged if their voices aren't quite similar.
As for the set, it was tight and short, covering nearly everything off of their self-titled debut album, with the addition of a new song ("Area Secure" or some such). For the first gig of the tour, everything fell into place. Not too shabby after a wait of several months.
* Paul Weller is still alive.
Posted by rj3 at February 22, 2005 11:16 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.smorgasblog.com/cgi-bin/mt/smtb.cgi/1256
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Great Paul Weller's Ghost!*:
» It Was A Piece Of Crap!
from Information Leafblower
Back from the long weekend. It was nice having yesterday off. So then...the weekend. Friday night L Boogie accompanied yours truly to the half nine club to see Kasabian open for The Music, thus I missed the Rookie Game (but... [Read More]
Tracked on February 22, 2005 1:17 PM