So I’m not sure if any of you followed my advice/suggestions for last week’s “Do It for the Kids,” and attended any of the week’s best all ages gigs, but I did end up making it out to two out of three of my own picks. I am a fan of The Parson Red Heads’ latest album, but 12pm was a little too early for me to make my way to Fishtown with no possibility of a paycheck. Upon arrival, I must admit that I did kind of regret trekking to the Electric Factory to see Grace Woodroofe play a thirty-minute set in support of Ben Harper, after having woken up at 6am and having to wake up at 6am the following day, but she did manage to impress. Dark Dark Dark with Brown Bird? Well, that was last week’s all ages highlight. I met and chatted up Brown Bird’s David and MorganEve before the gig (actually, David did most of the chatting), who, as openers, did win over much of the unfamiliar audience. And then, headliners, Dark Dark Dark left me with more questions than answers… not that that’s a bad thing. They seem to have evoked a new (as far as I know) subculture in their fans: part steam, part crust, and part post [“punk” in all cases… although they, themselves, are more chamber folk]. I was very amused, fairly intrigued, and a little aroused. Anyway, this week’s picks are a little bit bigger and a lot more stylized (take that however you want to). If you’re under 21 and looking for some decent gigs to go to this week, you should consider the following three options.
The Horrors @ World Café Live (10/2)
8pm, $20-$34
When we first met The Horrors they were essentially Bauhaus as a Ramones tribute band (So, pretty much, like the greatest thing ever). The last we heard from them they had unearthed an album’s-worth of undiscovered songs by the Psychedelic Furs (at least I’m pretty sure that’s what Primary Colours was). I haven’t heard their latest, Skying, but between their latest promo photos and the fact that they’re playing World Café Live, I’m guessing they have gotten progressively more “organic” (whatever the fuck that means) and have lost their initial morbid blitzkrieg. However, they’re still the most fashionable blokes on the entire planet… so at the very least your wardrobe can take a helpful hint. (If anyone has or has seen Counting in Fives, the documentary about the band’s 2007 US tour, can you please either get in touch with me or let me know if I’m in it. Faris and I had a very drunken, extended encounter at the North Star bar, which I would love to recall the details of.)
Chairlift @ The Trocadero (10/8) (supporting James Blake)
9pm, $21/$23
Oh, Chairlift, how I’ve missed you. You whimsically swam into my life with an aesthetic that combined both 80s pop and pretentions and which was completely futuristic in an ineffably quirkily dated and superficial manner. And you always seemed to be there for me, with a rapid succession of Philthy appearances, leading me to believe that you would always hold and place in my concert calendar… and it’s been two years. However, I still love you and forgive you. Welcome back, old pal.
Uh Huh Her @ Theatre of the Living Arts (10/8)
8pm, $25
If there’s any theme in this week’s “Do It for the Kids” it’s of band that I haven’t checked in on in a while. However, since Uh Huh Her’s 2007 debut there have been a bevy of fashion-conscious queer electropop duos that I would like to think they paved some way for. If you’re, like me, the kind of person who generally needs some live entertainment as an excuse to wiggle your ass on a dance floor on a Saturday night, this concert should serve as more-than-adequate motivation.
