Again with the Dears??!
typed for your pleasure on 7 June 2005, at 4.23 amSdtrk: ‘Fallait pas écraser la queue du chat’ by Clothilde
Yup, Jeff & I caught the Dears at the Magic stick again this Sun past, and we successfully managed to drag along Mike as well (he’s even more of a shut-in than I am, if that’s even physically possible). It was a really ace show, and easily better than the last time we saw them..
Departing from Le Jeff’s digs in eighty degree heat (great, Summer’s fuckin’ here already), we reached the locale, and simply walked right upstairs, as there wasn’t really any sort of queue to speak of, which we chalked that up to the fact that it was a Sunday. Having paid for our tickets, we were greeted by a trio of lasses who draped these backstage-pass-like things round our necks, like we’d just set foot on Fantasy Island or something. ‘Welcome to the show!’ said the lasses. ‘Why, thank you!’ I replied. Turns out that the Dears have signed out with that crazy Dentyne ‘Live it Loud’ service, where you can purchase a Cd, recorded directly from the soundboard, of the very concert you just saw. Despite all the corporate trappings, it’s actually a pretty ace idea. See the show, wait 15min, leave the venue with a copy of the show on disk. The passes that we were awarded with were actually contest pieces, as this bloke in a Dentyne shirt checked them under a little UV light. If the pass said you were a winner, you won a free concert Cd (normally $15). None of us were winners, but the checker bloke said we would have another chance if we had any Dentyne on us. We failed in that regard as well. ALAS ALACK
I neglected to mention the doors opened at 8pm. So it was rather surprising that the first opening act, Marjorie fair, went on about 17min after 8. Quickest start-up ever?! None of us had ever heard of them before, and were happy to discover that they didn’t suck. They’re a bit like the Dears, but not nearly as intense.. quite pleasant in a gloomy sort of way. Not bad! Shame their set was so short — they couldn’t have played more than five songs..
The following act, the Shout out louds, weren’t bad either. Three blokes and a rather milkmaidy-looking lass from Sweden, that had a bit of a Nordic pop / Remington super 60 vibe to them. I’d also say some of their tunes sounded a wee bit like New order as well, but I think that was due to their Linn drum. The lead singer explained that their drummer was absent, as he was getting married, so they borrowed a drum machine. Honesty really is the best policy. Midway through their set, George, the drummer from the Dears, took over, and his crazy talents helped to thicken up their sound. But I liked the Linn drum..
I believe the Dears took the stage, to the strains of Yoko Ono’s ‘Let me count the ways’, around quarter to midnight. This marks the fourth time Jeff & I have seen them: once in Ann arbor, once in Windsor, and once before at the Magic stick. They can’t stop touring! In all likelihood, they’ll probably be bringing this leg of the tour to a close, as Natalia was noticeably a couple of months preggers with a bun in the oven. Or a baby, one or the other. The band were in fine form, playing a couple of their soon-to-be-released songs, a good portion of material from ‘No cities left’, and a few songs from ‘End of a Hollywood bedtime story’, which I think is my favourite album of theirs. Murray even had us all clapping in time to ‘Heartless romantic’ during the encore..
After the show was over, Jeff stood in line to get his pre-ordered post-concert Cd, and as I was relatively skint, I bought two Dears buttons instead. We’d noticed that the venue was half-empty, which, in a way, is kinda nice, as you’re not packed in like sardines, but hopefully the performers didn’t think it was just a crappy night. This is why you don’t play Sunday eves! But all in all, we’d agreed it was an excellent show, bringing our party’s total number of skyward-pointing thumbs to three.
Well done, the Dears! Now go home and get some sleep!
Random similar posts, for more timewasting:
'This is not your sawtooth wave' on November 7th, 2005
MY BUNNY HOLIDAY: a Play in Seven Acts on March 28th, 2005
June 7th, 2005 at 9.49 am
What sort of sounds to these “Dears” produce?
June 7th, 2005 at 10.18 am
Minor correction: the final song was “Heartless Romantic.” Otherwise, well done!
June 7th, 2005 at 1.38 pm
Jeff —
the misteak has been swiftly and duly corrected. Good eye! This is why you shouldn’t type lengthy and involved posts at 4am. 😐
Joe —
The Dears are rather like a more operatic and intense version of the Smiths, with a bit of early Blur thrown in for good measure. Why not give them a good solid listen?