manbags and encores

Went to go see the Junior Boys last night in Kilburn with Michael O. We can start off by saying that live shows in the UK are a bit strange because no one really dances or reacts at all. They all just sort of stand there barely bobbing their heads in appreciation. No mosh pits or anything severe like that. Not that Junior Boys would constitute the kind of music that you could start a mosh pit to.

The venue was a little place up on Kilburn High Street in NW6 called the Lumiere. Small venue. The place was pretty packed. Mainly white boy graphic designer cool kids. I started to get clausterphobic when I realised that everyone was about 6′ tall and I was standing in the middle of them staring up at the back of their necks. Plus people kept crowding in front of me and mashing my bag. Even the girls were freakishly large!

The band was pretty good. I never know what to call “acts” that have one dude that plays with a Mac the entire time. Is that a band, an act, a group? OK, they did have a guitar and a drummer as well… I’d only been introduced to their album the day before so I didn’t have that much exposure to what I was getting myself into when I accepted the invitation. The music can be (sort of) summed up by calling it pop synth with some funky bass lines on the level of Postal Service. The lead singer has a great voice – as Michael O pointed out – soothing.

My only complaints about the evening (of course there have to be complaints, it’s me, isn’t it!) are that there were so many guys staring at the band it was like a sausage fest. But a sausage fest that had the added element that every single male in the entire venue had a manbag with him. Yes, the old manbag is so in fashion in London that I was getting bumped by them left and right. What’s up with that? There were some guys that had bags that so closely resembled a purse that I had to laugh at them.

Next complaint – and this is more generalised towards any live shows and bands – I hate encores. Why do bands bother doing this? It just annoys me. And you KNOW that they are going to do it so why waste my time. The Grateful Dead never did encores. I respected them for that. If I ever find another band that doesn’t bother I will go to their shows…

And that’s all I got to say about that.

Listen to a track from Junior Boys


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