Malajube//Die Romantik//The Epochs at Bowery Ballroom, 11.15.07

Thursday evening was spent at the Malajube show. You all know I love my Canadian bands. Love 'em. This sounds weird, but the fact that there was a coat check made me a little sad. If you have a coat to check, then it must be cold outside. :( Autumn nearly over.

I feel for opening bands, because you have the hard core fans and then the people who need to be won over, and I tend to be on the edge most of the time. I'm harder to win over nowadays since I started wearing earplugs. Although I fully endorse not going prematurely deaf, earplugs are a nuisance... I mean, I wear them, but I just don't get the same sensory experience.
Still, they're quite smart if you go to a lot of shows, and find yourself yelling at your friends and family a lot. "WHAT?? NO, THIS IS MY NORMAL VOICE!!" Time to get earplugs, my friends.

The Epochs



I was particularly interested in hearing Die Romantik for the first time because there's a song on their myspace page I love called "One Thought is Flickering". They have a dark charm, like a group of marionettes climbing out of a toybox to play. But you know, less creepy, and way more entertaining. The elaborate lighting was a plus too. Kudos to their stagehands for working the lights.

Sorry for the poor angle. You can't tell from this photo, but the keyboardist is sitting on his amp. See, I don't know if this is a normal keyboardisty thing to do, but I thought it was cool.



I always get a kick out of seeing what Malajube's Julien Mineau will wear on the stage. While setting up he was wearing a sailor outfit, and then he changed into a "Where's Waldo?" hat and glasses. The fans looked like they were having a blast. Malajube brought the house down, even though the guys were a bit under the weather. Feel better!







Malajube: Casse-cou
(Buy Trompe-l'oeil)

Celebrating Canada in Brooklyn

I made the trek from Queens to Brooklyn today to celebrate Canada Day with three of bands from Montreal: Malajube, Sam Roberts Band, and one of my favorite bands, The Stills.

Malajube in their adorable Franco-accented English wished us all a “Happy Brooklyn.” I still don’t know that significance of lead singer Julien Mineau’s furry rat hat thing, but it’s a good thing it wasn’t a particularly hot day, otherwise he would have been baking.

(Malajube)

(Sam Roberts Band)

When The Stills came on, I was ecstatic. I was busting out my best moves, dancing to the music and singing along. I haven’t seen them perform live since college. They really have tightened up the performance aspect of their concert in a few years. Their first album is hands down better than the second, but the second does have its gems—like Oh Shoplifter, and Halo the Harpoon. Then again, I could probably listen to Tim Fletcher sing the phone book. Oh Tim… how I heart thee. One of the songs they performed for the encore was my favorite Stills song, Killer Bees, from the Rememberese EP.

Tim Fletcher & Dave Hamlin

of....

(The Stills)

Happy Canada Day, and…… “Happy Brooklyn!”

Malajube- Étienne d'août (link expired)
(Buy the album: Trompe L’Oeil)

Sam Roberts Band- Bridge to Nowhere (link expired)
(Buy the album: Chemical City)

The Stills- Killer Bees (link expired)
(Buy the EP: Rememberese)