Dumbek's Random Stuff

Could the weekend have been a little better? I think not.

It started on Saturday with a couple of cute boys hanging out by the pool, followed by a much-needed nap, then a show at The Black Cat. We caught The Pipettes on the second date of their US tour. I was quite surprised to find The Cat sold-out, considering they don't even have a US release yet. Apparently, the hipsters love them some old-school girl-group action. Polka-dot party dresses, happy little songs that weren't always so happy, lots of hand-clapping and synchronized dancing. You can't really ask for much more than that. I went into it never having heard a note from them. Everyone I talked to described them the same way: "They're good and a lot of fun, but the songs all sound the same after a while." They played for about an hour. After they were done, I thought to myself, "They're good and a lot of fun, but the songs all sounded the same after a while." A good way to spend a little time on a Saturday night though. No arguments there. Glad I went. Don't need the record.


The opening band Smoosh, however, friggin' slayed. OK - That may be a bit of an overstatement, but considering Smoosh consists of only 2 girls - both under the age of 15 - and they're performing kick-ass indie rock tunes like they're old pros, it's pretty damn impressive. They also had a special guest sit in for one song. Another girl came out and played bass. I swear she could not have been over 8 years old. It was like the female version of Hanson, except they didn't suck at all. In fact, after a few songs you kind of forgot they were kids and they just rocked out. Awesome. They made The Pipettes look even more ridiculous. They've been opening for the likes of Bloc Party, Eels and The Go! Team. They rule. What were you doing when you were 14?



Sunday brought the return of Bloc Party to DC. I could probably cut-and-paste a large chunk of my Arcade Fire review here, but instead I'll just give a bullet list:


- Saw Bloc Party in a club and loved them (Black Cat and 9:30).
- Loved the first record.
- Hipster backlash - tepid reviews of second record. Didn't buy it.
- Announce DC show. Decide to go only if I can get really good tickets.
- Presale. I scored a seat in the friggin' FRONT ROW.
- Bought the cd. It's far better than the reviews/backlash claim.
- Show kicked-ass.
- Bloc Party roadie was sporting a Smoosh t-shirt.

There are more of my sucktastic pictures up at flickr.

Update: Metro Distortion has the Bloc Party setlist here.