Wednesday, March 21, 2012

March Madness, Continued: Out Come the Whites


First of all, before we start with all of the concert pics, let me point out for those of you keeping score at home that the white azaleas are finally starting to come out this spring.

Meanwhile, among all of the madness, I barely got the chance to mention that Eugene Mirman/Andrew Bird show at The Tabernacle last Saturday night (March 17 - St. Patrick's Day).


Eugene Mirman


Comedian Eugene Mirman opened the show with some hilarious observational humor, mostly at his own expense, although he did get some good jabs in at the Tea Party and other Red State targets.


Andrew Bird


Andrew Bird apologized at the start of the show that he was combating a case of the flu and was on some decongestant meds that warned him against operating heavy equipment, but he sounded fine and other than one or two false starts to a couple songs during his 90-minute set, he showed no other symptoms of his ailment.









Dark Room


Last night, Atlanta's Dark Room opened the show at The Drunken Unicorn, playing an experimental set of glitchy, ambient noise-rock.


Sleepy Genes


Sleepy Genes, another local act, followed with a LOUD set of rock songs, played with swagger and perfection, featuring a singer who looked like a less self destructive but more dangerous version of Kurt Cobain.




Poliça


Minneapolis' Poliça  were last night's headliners.  Although my expectations were high, I was dubious when they took the stage only with a pair of drummers, a bass player and a singer - no guitar, no keyboards, and no other melodic instruments.  The keyboard, horn, and guitar lines were recorded and played off of a laptop, but instead of sounding canned, the twin percussionists, the dynamic bass player, and Channie Leaneagh's terrific vocal performance quickly won me and the rest of the audience over.




Doing more with less - never has minimalism sounded so maximally rich.



Poliça are exploding, and I'm not likely to see the like of this band in a venue as small as the Drunken Unicorn again any time soon.  Remind me in December to include this performance among the Concerts of the Year.  

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