Brightest Young Things

all words: Sepie Moinipanah

all photos: Jeff Martin

Had one missed the opportunity to catch Tokyo Police Club last month opening for Passion Pit at the 9:30 Club, one was able to redeem oneself as the guys returned to kick-start a tour of their own. Headlining at the Black Cat and soliciting a little help from their Canadian counterparts, The Arkells and New York-based Freelance Whales, the collective was able to pack the house with a sell out crowd with days to spare. Having arrived at the moment the doors were opened, I quickly scouted out a spot at the front...of the bar. Living the High Life and beer in hand, I made my way to the stage to catch the first opener.

The Arkells set-up shop at their advertised time and had a rather drawn out performance. The crowd seemed to share this sentiment. Despite several attempts to engage the audience members to clap along, they had none of it. Unfortunately their overabundance of energy did not effectively compensate for their overall sound. Perhaps I just caught these guys on a bad night? Hopefully giving the album a second or third chance may change my mind.

Following a short intermission, the crowd began to settle as many had made their way into the room and the Freelance Whales had manned the stage. The Queens quintet stormed on and began ripping into their set as they received a rather warm welcome from the audience. Having not previously listened to the band, I had no idea what to expect. Much like The Arkells, the Freelance Whales packed a comparably lengthy set for an opener - complete with a hearty dosage of oooooohs and aaaaaaahs. Their synth-powered indie-pop seemingly won over the crowd, myself included. Let's cross our fingers and hope Judah and company return in the near future.

Some considerable time had passed before Tokyo Police Club made their way out. Normally this would not have been a deal breaker for me but working the grind 9-5 and having had a show-filled weekend, I would have appreciated a heightened sense of urgency for the TPC boys to hit the stage. David Monks and company played a tight set - complete with new and old tracks. Their newly released Champs was the center piece of their set, which comprised of a solid chunk of their performance. Not completely familiar with the newer material myself, I like others, was pumped to hear the classics.

TPC had some technical problems throughout the night. Guitars were swapped mid-song and the sound was a bit off from my spot. With the exception of the aforementioned issues the band prevailed and had a solid performance. Some of the highlights included "Tessellate", "Be Good" and "Nature of the Experiment". My personal favorite of the night had to have been "Citizens of Tomorrow" - David Monks heavy bass riffs and a mixture of the clapping from the crowd won me over. My only complaint was the flow of the show. The order in which the songs were played were rather conflicting for me. I found myself moderately disinterested on a few songs with my hands crossed or in my pockets and rocking out for the remaining ones. Perhaps this may have just been me as their valiant effort was well-received by most.

Previously in Live DC:

• 2/13: LiveDC: George Clinton & The Parliament-Funkadelic @ 930 Club
• 2/13: LiveDC: Veronica Falls/ Brilliant Colors @ Black Cat
• 2/13: LIVE DC: Steve Aoki/ Datsik/ Alvin Risk @ Fillmore
• 2/13: LiveDC: The Darkness @ 930 Club
• 2/9: LiveDC: Theophilus London @ 930 Club
• 2/9: Best Weekend Bets
• 2/8: LiveDC: Kathleen Edwards @ 930 Club
• 2/8: LiveDC: Thurston Moore/ Kurt Vile @ Black Cat
• 2/8: LiveDC: Thurston Moore/ Kurt Vile @ Black Cat
• 2/7: LiveDC: Demetri Martin @ Warner Theatre