Annuals and Blonde Redhead at the BUT
Last night, I headed out (with seemingly every amateur music fan in the county) for the sold out Blonde Redhead show at the Belly Up. I love the Belly Up, but sold out shows there can be totally retarded. And the amateurs were totally out last night. At some point right before Blonde Redhead went on, I heard some chick behind me ask her friend “What is the name of the band that is playing?” OMG, are you kidding me? I hate hearing that shit at sold out shows because it makes me feel like someone more worthy should have had that ticket. I know, I know, call me an elitist or a beeotch or whatever, but you people who go to shows know the type. They know nothing about the bands, they are more interested in getting drinks or having a conversation in the middle of the set than the nuances of the performance in front of them. /end rant
But back to the bands. I got there early because I wanted to see the Annuals. P-fork creamed over their album. Their quote from the sticker on the album packaging - “Annuals may be the label’s (ed note: Ace Fu) best find yet.” And Spin’s quote is awesome - “Indie-Rock Phenoms Reveal Dazzling Sonic Kaleidoscope”. The Annuals are a six piece band from North Carolina. Their set up on stage was massive - two full drum kits, two keyboard setups (one was a home made set up that had a moog type thing attached), plus the 2 guitarists and the bass player. The lead singer, Adam Baker, mainly manned one of the keyboards, but at times killed a standalone drum (he had a pair of drumsticks in his pocket). Adam and the chick on keys, Anna Spence were amazing to watch. Okay, Anna is a hottie. She was wearing this blue velvet dress with cream lace trim (but the ugliest shoes ever). I really enjoyed their set as I was up close and personal to see what was going on and they were just full of energy and lots of fun to watch.
I gave up my prime spot after the Annuals because I had heard that Blonde Redhead isn’t that fun to watch live. I do have a hard time watching chill bands such as Blonde Redhead, so I hung out closer to the back in case I needed to make a quick getaway. The trio from NY was a such a contrast from the Annuals. Though watching Kazu was captivating, I have to admit. Her voice is amazing in a really haunting kind of way. Kinda hard to describe, but the vibe really reminded me of some of This Mortal Coil’s material. So, yeah, I was surrounded by amateurs and could only hang for about 30 minutes of their set.
Okay, that’s all she wrote. Artwalk today. Maybe Lamp tomorrow. A few things going on this week before I am headed out on a three week travel stint.
Annuals - Chase You Off
