Brightest Young Things

all words and photos: Joel Mittleman

In my experience, shows at DC9 are usually crazy packed or fairly empty.  Lucky crowds get the benefit of the venue’s uncanny ability to book acts right on the cusp of blowing up: by the time the show rolls around, the hype surrounding acts like Surfer Blood and the Very Best could barely fit the venue’s intimate space.  On the other hand, it’s still a 200 person venue.  Every act can’t be Best New Music, and most can only muster a handful of committed, niche fans.

Tuesday’s show, Annuals and Most Serene Republic, was decidedly in between.  Here were two very good bands that have been working hard for years, building a solid fan base while still staying largely outside the blogosphere hypescape.  It showed.  Crowded but not packed, the show was filled with eager fans, not trendspotters.

Starting the night was Tempe, Arizona’s What Laura Says. Their ballsy, minimalist roots rock was an interesting start for a night of more standard indie fare.  Though their mess of long hair and guitar fuzz was charming enough, they mostly just made me wish Earl Greyhound would come to DC.  They teetered between kicking my ass and boring me, ultimately falling on the side of the latter.  Eh.  I’ve seen worse openers.

Though they played second, the Annuals were the night’s biggest draw. It’s easy to understand why.  They were textbook indie darlings: all scruffy beards, skinny jeans and vintage dresses.  Coming into the show, I didn’t know their music well, but after hearing them I have to agree with what one of their fans told me before the set: “Some of their songs I really like, others I don’t.”

At their best, they were excellent, but their style was inconsistent.  Their core sound was reminiscent of the emo bands of my youth, with singer Kenny Florence standing in as a kind of latter day Chris Carrabba. On songs like “Sway” and “Brother,” shimmering guitars and wavelike rhythm gave convincing context to Florence’s dramatic scream/cry singing.  At other times, however, they stumbled off into Vampire Weekend style afropop and heavily distorted psychedelia.  I wish they didn’t.  They also curiously made use of two full drum sets, but with the drummers playing the exact same rhythm, it was unclear to me what that added beyond spectacle.  Annuals sounded like a band still finding their sound and, with some songs as good as they were, I’m excited to follow them as they do.

Unlike most, though, I was there for the last band of the night, Ontario’s Most Serene Republic. I’ve been a fan of them since 2005’s Underwater Cinematographer, an album that made them the first band on the great Arts & Crafts label that’s not somehow a part of Broken Social Scene.  Though they may not share members, they certainly share a sound (a fact reinforced by their lead guitarist wearing a BSS t-shirt).

The band’s three albums are somewhat hectic affairs, full of handclaps, multipart vocal harmonies, and tons of electronic clicks and hisses.  I wasn’t sure how well that frenetic energy would translate into a live experience, but it was great.  Despite all that was going on musically, the band was tight and confident.  More importantly, they were fun.  Really fun.  Their singer engaged the audience throughout the set, joking about Canada and discussing the bands on audience members’ shirts.  The group’s joy and appreciation came through not just in their banter, but in their music, producing one of the best sets I’ve seen in the last year.  Fans of Broken Social Scene, take note: the Most Serene Republic are a less ambitious, less serious version of the band you love.  Though that sounds like an insult, I think the band would agree.  You will too.  They’re awesome.

At a lot of indie shows, it can feel like the actual music played is almost secondary to the hype surrounding the people playing it.  The songs played by, say, Sleigh Bells, and are less important than the fact that, OMG, you saw Sleigh Bells.  Tuesday at DC9 was a welcome corrective to this creeping feeling.  We were all there to hear music we loved, and the musicians were there because they loved playing it.  It was a recipe for success.

Previously in Live DC:

• 5/22: LiveDC: Spirit Animal @ Red Palace
• 5/22: LiveDC: Astra Via @ Black Cat
• 5/22: LiveDC: Father John Misty @ Rock & Roll Hotel
• 5/22: LiveDC: Drive-By Truckers and Lucinda Williams @ Merriweather
• 5/22: Photos: Summer Camp takes the "Ladies of Town" Drag Show
• 5/22: LiveDC: Penguin Prison & Class Actress @ RNR Hotel
• 5/21: LiveDC: James Morrison @ 930 Club
• 5/21: Photos: Que Sera L'Anniversaire @ Napoleon
• 5/21: LiveDC: La Sera/ Beach Week @ Red Palace
• 5/21: LiveDC: The Black Keys & Arctic Monkeys @ Merriweather Post Pavilion