Some Sunday Funny

During a Sunday night recently I was reading something while watching a Packers game; Jenn pointed out that in the segue into the commerical, they played "Every Day is Like Sunday." Morrissey and the NFL--now that's just funny as hell. There's nothing that says "Football" like a British shoegaze song about hanging out at the beach in anticipation of a nuclear apocalypse...

10 October 2008: Tegan and Sara, Sokol Auditorium

Let me begin by saying that I'd seen this act before and liked them well. Jenn and I were just friends when we went up to see Ryan Adams at the 9:30 Club in 2002 in my old purple S-10. We drove three hours to the show and drove straight back to Greenville (with a nod-off at a truck stop somewhere in between). This was when I was in the midst of my alt-country phase (Ryan Adams, early Wilco, Uncle Tupelo, Graham Parsons, etc.) and I was mad for some Ryan Adams (whom I still dig a great deal--more on that another day).

It was a sit-down show. I thought that was weird, as I had been to that same venue a year before (for James Brown) and that show had been a completely different sort of scene.

So out come two bouncy girls with chippy banter and short, sharp, smart acoustic guitar songs--a nice antidote to the affected Faulknerian gloom-and-doom that was the headliner that night. Jenn left there thinking they had upstaged Ryan Adams (whom she still does not dig). I left there wanting to get their album.

Six years later much has gone down for them; now they're headlining.

The venue was pretty unique. I won't pretend to know all of the ins and outs of it, but it seemed like the proper setting for a middle school dance and with the lights dimmed it also resembled Disney's Haunted Mansion ride. There were many youngsters about (as it was an all-ages show--Ian MacKaye would have been proud), and it will shock none to know that the Y-chromosome was in short supply (with the non-gay gene being even more scarce).

The first opening act was called Girl in a Coma (apparently a nod to The Smiths). This kickass all-female trio reminded me of The Strokes, Elastica, and The Pixies. I know not what they sang, but I really enjoyed them.  Not only did they have tight propulsive songs, but these ladies had some good rock charisma. I've not heard their album, but if you have the chance to see them for a reasonable fee I'd do it (but bring the earplugs--I left mine in the car and my ears are still f*cked).

The second opener was some guy with a baseball cap and an acoustic guitar. He wasn't bad. The crowd really liked him. I wasn't really interested in hearing a confessional acoustic guitar guy, though, so I didn't really pay attention to him. Sorry. But thanks for the respite from the noise, sensitive baseball cap wearing acoustic guy!

Tegan and Sara came on and played for a little over an hour. Many of the selections were from their last two albums (The Con and So Jealous). They led off with "You Wouldn't Like Me"; other highlights from the show were "The Con," "I Bet It Stung"--one of my favorite songs by them--, and "Downtown." The performances sounded like the recordings--no spontaneous flourishes or anything, just solid competent playing. The crowd showed it was really into the show, chiming in strongly when the band played "Call It Off," which was nice. What detracted from it, though, was the asinine stage banter. I won't bore you with it, but it vascilated between patronize-your-dog type chatter (with the audience playing the dog) and what I hope was feigned conversation (surely the real deal isn't as annoying and banal) between the sisters. We left at the end of the set and didn't stay for the encore. No need, really--I had gotten what I expected from the show, which wasn't much.

I do recall reading a piece that once asked what the difference was between Ashley Simpson and Tegan and Sara, alleging that the sound of the former was strikingly close to that of the latter.  While it seemed to state a smug cynical truth, its premise was more than a bit unfair; anyone who does attend their show will readily admit Tegan and Sara represent an entirely different ethos than Jessica Simpson's little sister, though I would leave it to their diehard fans to define just what that is. Truthfully, I can point to nearly ten tunes in their catalog that hold up as brilliant pop songs, which is more than I can say for a lot of bands with comparable mainstream success.

However, for a show that was in the upper $20s, unless you are already a fan or can somehow swing it for $15 or less, I'd skip it. The things that make Tegan and Sara a jaw-droppingly strong opening act turn them into rather anemic headliners--their songs are very short and too similar to support a full rock set (even one as short as an hour), and even though there was nothing technically wrong with the show, there was nothing overwhelmingly great about it I could point to, either--no musical or improvisational virtuosity that distinguished the concert from the recordings. Basically, if you're there you probably strongly connect with the Tegan and Sara persona and that pulls you through the soft spots; if that isn't enough, you'll find yourself disappointed, but only mildly so.