Junior Boys, Doug Fir Lounge, 04/24/07
Recapturing the magic.
I had been advised against it. Something about the law of diminishing returns. Told that repeat experiences rarely match the original.
When I spotted Didemus in the parking lot outside the venue, I told him he had a hell of a show to live up to.
Surely I was setting myself up for disappointment: Same city. Same venue. No new material. Who else was possibly going to see this show again?
Apparently everyone. And then some.
I have no idea where half the crowd came from.
When I saw Junior Boys last September, the audience was lively but sparse.
Yesterday the floor was packed. And not with your usual suspects.
The fraternity/sorority couples to the right of me absolutely flipped their shit when they heard the opening chords to Double Shadow. It was surreal.
Everything about the show was better the second time around. The band was tighter, the crowd more energetic -- hell, I even found a better parking spot.
Lesson learned.
I had been advised against it. Something about the law of diminishing returns. Told that repeat experiences rarely match the original.
When I spotted Didemus in the parking lot outside the venue, I told him he had a hell of a show to live up to.
Surely I was setting myself up for disappointment: Same city. Same venue. No new material. Who else was possibly going to see this show again?
Apparently everyone. And then some.
I have no idea where half the crowd came from.
When I saw Junior Boys last September, the audience was lively but sparse.
Yesterday the floor was packed. And not with your usual suspects.
The fraternity/sorority couples to the right of me absolutely flipped their shit when they heard the opening chords to Double Shadow. It was surreal.
Everything about the show was better the second time around. The band was tighter, the crowd more energetic -- hell, I even found a better parking spot.
Lesson learned.
posted by d l wright at 4/25/2007 03:46:00 PM
4 Comments:
People were going nuts at the SF show. There was a couple in front of me grinding (wtf?).
I don't know what it is about JB, but they attract a strange fan base. Everyone was dancing like crazy...so strange given the totally mellow music.
Definitely beat the Bottom of the Hill show in which you and I were the entire audience and they barely looked up from their laptops.
To be fair -- at Bottom of the Hill, Greenspan was on bass/guitar. And there were like two other people in the audience for Junior Boys.
On this tour, even the mellower tracks like Count Souvenirs have been punched up - especially with the added drummer - for maximum dance floor appeal. I loved it.
And so did everybody else in the audience. But where were they in Sept.? I guess I assumed that the internet sort of killed word of mouth.
Guess not.
At last night's show at the Empty Bottle, the crowd was full of earnest hipsters; nevertheless, I was able to spot several frat boys. One in particular caught my attention: his eyes were lazy, his hair was long by inattention not choice, and his golf shirt was expensive but dirty.
"Logan's right!" I thought. "The fratties are here in full effect, and it is surreal! They stand out like sore thumbs! It's as if they shouldn't be here! I can't even imagine what it will be like if they know and like the same music as I!"
You can imagine my surprise, then, when the frat boy took the stage, picked up the bass, and welcomed us to the show. I wouldn't have believed it was really him, but his voice gave him away. Who would have thought such pretty sounds could have come from such an offensive-looking person!
The Greek apologist speaks.
I love frat boys. All my best friends are fratties. I am going to be one's groomsman in August. Though he tells me that it is offensive to to refer to it as a 'frat.'
I also love venues that are so small that there is no backstage.
And I also also love Greenspan. He is Canadian, he doesn't know any better.
Post a Comment
<< Home