Live: Flight of the Conchords at Ryman Auditorium 10 April 09

I wasn't sure what to expect from seeing Flight of the Conchords live, other than pure awesomeness. How do you approach a comedy duo that's also a band, anyways? Well, I still may not know, but it was pretty amazing. Kristin Schaal opened, and I love Mel even more now. I don't know much stand-up comedy, but she was hilarious and was wearing these fantastic silver sequined bermuda shorts.

But anyways, Flight of the Conchords. My life was made from the second they walked out wearing silver jackets and the robot heads and started with Too Many Dicks On The Dancefloor. They mainly played songs from the second season, for obvious reasons. For some reason I'd always found Bret to be slightly funnier, but I was nearly cracked a rib from laughing when Jemaine kept gesturing towards his rump during Sugalumps.

The most important thing is that the merchandise included magnets, featuring goldfish, Bret's mug, business socks, the keytar, a hotdog, and a robot head.

Live: The Whigs at Exit/In 3 April 09

Tonight was my third time seeing the Whigs. They are, without a doubt, an incredibly solid band. Their bass drum-heavy take on Southern rock is just as at ease in a huge arena as it is in a more intimate setting. The Athens, Georgia trio aren't much for swagger or style like previous tourmates Kings of Leon, but they know how to leave a crowd satisfied with tightly-crafted tunes and a high energy performance. I've always been impressed with their live sound, not a letdown at all in comparison to the way they sound on record.

They played some new songs tonight, and their third album and follow-up to the breakout "Mission Control" looks to be very promising indeed. Still, there's always something magical about the 2008 single "Right Hand On My Heart."

Right Hand On My Heart - The Whigs

Setlist:
More Than Before
Hot Bed
Hundred/Million
I Don't Even Care About
Like A Vibration
Production City (short)
O.K., Alright
I Am For Real
Nothing Is Easy
Alabama Stars
Half The World Away
Mission Control
Technology
Right Hand On My Heart
Already Young
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Violet Furs
Need You Need You

The International Tweexcore Underground

I just got in from seeing Titus Andronicus and Los Campesinos! at Exit/In. Have a few of my poorly-organised thoughts.

I'd never heard anything by Titus Andronicus before, but I quite enjoyed their set. I'm absolutely horrible at comparing bands, so at first I thought they sounded vaguely like a more upbeat version of the Whigs. By the end, I realised that I am even worse at comparing bands than I previously thought I was. I'll have to check out some of their properly recorded stuff, I really enjoyed them, they had great energy.

Los Campesinos! were down a member, as one of the girls was ill. Still, they put on a solid show and were every bit as adorable as I expected them to be. Frontman Gareth has a stage presence that is vaguely reminiscent of a mixture of Martin Freeman and a nervous schoolboy, often adding illustrative hand gestures or singing with his hands clasped behind his back. I wasn't as familiar with their new album (We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed) as I wanted to be before the show, but oh well. They started off with "All Your Keyfabe Friends" and it sounded great.

The female vocals seemed kind of weak, but that could have been a sound problem, and they were missing a member. Considering the large quantity of instruments involved, everything was pulled off beautifully. Highlights: "You! Me! Dancing!"; "Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks"; and "Drop It Doe Eyes." I wish they'd played "It Started With A Mixx," but oh well.

I wonder how old the drummer is, he looked quite young. At the encore, he came out with toilet paper wrapped around his head and draped in a Welsh flag that someone had thrown onstage earlier, which was quite amusing. There was also a part during "Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks" where Gareth jumped off of the stage, crossed the floor, and stood on one of the tables in the back.

Afterwards, I had the pleasure of having a wee conversation at the merch stand with Gareth about Torchwood/Doctor Who and how Skins is an inaccurate representation of teenage life. What a sweetheart. ♥