Music for Misanthropes

by Michael

Since we actually went to the show together, this was meant to be a combined-forces review between Katie and me, but somebody went a little heavy on the vodka cranberry and Strongbow, and can’t remember enough to credibly (or uncredibly, or even incredibly) review it. Instead I am here to talk about what an ok show it was.

The night started with a nice dinner Chez Sara Gimmy. The spirits were flowing, and, being underage, I was designated “sober sister.” I am not, in fact, a sister, but Kate wanted my title to be alliterative, so I became “sober senor.”  After dinner it was off the the Rock and Roll Hotel.

Once there, the awesome-haired bouncer checked my ID, and asked me the cut-off date to be 21 (as if my Pennsylvania license didn’t explicitly state when I will be 21).  I told her I was 20, and accepted my X’s, which made me blend in expertly with the teenage boys all there to fawn over Jukebox the Ghost.

Once inside, it was as if we had stepped into a sauna full of preteens. Jenny Owen Youngs was almost finished her set, so we hung back before joining the sweaty crowd, and everyone except for me gravitated towards the bar.  Jenny’s music was good, but it was hard to hear her voice, and what we could hear wasn’t that spectacular.  The crowd didn’t seem too into it either, as maneuvering through the crowd was still pretty simple, and most people didn’t seem to be paying much attention to her.

To finish off her set, Jenny brought out the guys from Jukebox to play a couple of songs with her, and the crowd still didn’t seem to care.  Ben got up and sang their new collaboration, “Nighty Night,” which is pretty damn amazing. They finished off the set with Jenny singing “Last Person,” which sounded amazing with the two bands playing together, but it could have been better had Jenny traded off vocals with Ben and/or Tommy like they do on the recorded version.

*Note*:  These videos are from a show in Charlotte, NC, not our show in DC, but still.

With Jenny’s set finished, a large portion of the mostly disinterested crowd started shifting, so we began to make our move towards the stage.  About half way there, we hit the wall of fanboys: kids just barely old enough to be in the bar, who would rather kill a person than let them get between them and Jukebox the Ghost. When Jukebox finally came on stage, they were greeted by waving palms; I was greeted by black X’s.

Like I always say, a concert is better when  the crowd is into it, so all in all, the show was pretty awesome, even if the venue was a sauna full of writhing bodies.  Jukebox stuck more to their older stuff, and mostly played songs off their album.  They did make an exception to bust out a brand new song, “Schizophrenic.” The quick tempo and lyrics made it a standout of the set.  It’s gonna take quite a few listens before I can really understand what was being said though.

The concert continued pretty on-keel, with everyone there singing along with as much passion as humanly possible, throwing their heads back at the appropriate time, and pumping their fists in the air when the mood struck them.  The set ended with Jukebox now inviting Jenny Owen Youngs and her band out to join them for a couple songs.  They played a Jenny-sung version of “Ghost in Empty Houses” which I thought was pretty ok.  To close, they played their cover of “Temptation” by New Order, which Kate got excited about, because it meant 8 more minutes of Jukebox. She briefly lost interest, because May from Pree was now standing next to us, but did not lack enthusiasm when singing the chorus.

After an encore of “Good Day,” the concert was over. Kate bought the new 7″ split EP from Jenny at the merch table, then returned to the group, frustrated. She grumbled, “I keep telling average opening acts that they’re really good!” (Ed note–I did this at the Tally Hall show too! I think I want to encourage them! Also, I mean average like an A-student means average, which is more like a B+!) We departed the club only to realize that we were soaked in sweat, and that it was way later than we expected. So ended a pretty good concert.