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Shake It, Don't Break It

Posted at 1:21 PM on January 25, 2007 by Jacquie Fuller (2 Comments)

I have to admit--I'm feeling a little burned out on shows. The last one I went to--Emily Haines at the Varsity--kind of left me feeling like I'd missed a few days of my Wellbutrin. I love her solo album, but I just wasn't feelin' the live show.

Overall, I'm growing weary of standing around with my hands in my pockets at shows, craning my neck to see above some tall guy's shoulders. A failing of Indie music is definitely the energy at live shows. Punk rock? No problem. But when was the last time you saw folks gettin' down at an indie show? I can tell you the last time I saw it: Jens Lekman at the Triple Rock, last year. And they were barely gettin' down, at that. Lekman encouraged dancing, and everyone sort of wiggled their hips timidly, like, "Are you sure it's okay?" Dancing at indie shows is like encountering humorous art at a museum—you really want to laugh, but aren’t sure if it’s allowed.

Tomorrow night, though, Girl Talk and Dance Band take the stage at the Varsity. Booty shaking and permission to laugh out loud? My sources say yes! Girl Talk, aka Gregg Gillis, takes sampling (legal and otherwise) to a whole new level, creating Frankentracks that rise to the level of arty collage. Between the cheesy content of his samples and the skillfullness of his juxtapositions, Girl Talk challenges our concepts of pop v. art, and high culture v. low. All those years of college, and it takes Girl Talk for me to finally understand what “postmodern” means!

Dance Band? This will be my first time seeing them live, but one peek at their My Space profile and I'm SOLD.

I haven't been this excited about a live show in a while. Seriously--I'm ready to shake it, with total disregard for the fact that it took my mama nine months to make it. Are you?

Comments (2)

Too bad I'm going to miss you shaking it--I hear you're taking flamenco lessons, which should add a nice flourish to your indie boogie woogie. I'm bummed about missing the Dance Band, a local band I'm hoping to see live soon.

So think of me Friday night: I'll be down at the Turf Club at the Deaf CD release party. Punk rock, energy included.

Where is everyone else going Friday night?

Posted by Christina "Sister C" Schmitt | January 25, 2007 1:38 PM

So far, Jacquie is the only other Current staffer I know of that was also at the Jens Lekman show last summer. That was actually the last show I've seen, period, but it was a relatively wild bash. Especially after the opening acts were so utterly sedate; after those acts, Jens and his band practically felt like a carnival.

Posted by Mac Wilson | January 25, 2007 3:20 PM

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