Live DC: Evangelicals / Headlights @ Iota

February 25, 2008 by Jen  Send to a Friend

How many girls does it take to review one show?
Apparently (at least) 3:
All photos: Lexie Moreland
Headlights words: Jen
Evangelicals words: Svetlana

headlights

Headlights got off to a rocky start. Approximately three and a half hours went down between the band and the sound guy as they got the microphone/amp/whatever levels just right. I, as the average audience member, felt somewhat blah about this, namely because my lay knowledge of sound levels ranges from “sounds good” to “sounds shitty.” In any event, the thorough attention given to miniature changes in sound must have paid off, because these guys were downright amazing.

I went into this show pretty certain that I was going to love it. Their single from last year, “Put Us Back Together Right,” was the jam that basically got me through the harrowing experience of graduating from college (that and far too much whiskey). The new album, “Some Racing, Some Stopping,” is incredible. That said, there wasn’t much to hold these guys back.

But before a breakdown of every sonic nuance that had my heart writing sonnets can be made, I’ve got to call these guys (and far too many more) out on just one thing…

Using “ooohhh ahhhh” and “bah bah bah bah” as a replacement for actual words throughout a song is quickly becoming totally unacceptable. It’s kind of cute in a babytalk sort of way, but only for like 10 seconds per album (approximately the total amount of time that babytalking is all right). Headlights managed to clock in at least a minute of this for almost every song. Writer’s block is understandably a bitch, and these guys are by no means the single most guilty party to this affront on lyrical content, but c’mon. Let’s get some real words going here.

OK. Now that’s off my chest. These guys are well worth all of the “Stars if Stars weren’t sort of lame” comparisons that have been tossed around. Singer/keyboardist Erin Fein provides spot-on harmonies with the male vocalists in the band, lending a quaintly energetic vibe to the stage show. One of the best songs of the night was “So Much for the Afternoon” off the new album. What a great piece of droning, pulsating and eventually serendipitous work. It broke up the cheerful pop music that composed the night so well.

Other gems included the early “Get Yr Head Around It” and the stellar “Cherry Tulips.” There’s freshness to Headlights’ work that’s somehow catchy and quality without being overdone or redundant. Their set was also an excellent precursor to the radical Evangelicals set.

then Jen had to peace out, so I got to write about the Evangelicals. Ready? -Svetlana

evangelicals

Now, this show has been my pet BYT project all month. We’ve interviewed both bands, I actually went ahead and reviewed their albums (something I normally have a pathological fear of) and have been playing Cherry Tulips and Paperback Suicide to whoever will listen, and so my hopes and dreams for it were high.

So, as Becca and I arrived to Iota we strategically placed ourselves next to the floppy haired gaggle of boys, who were were obviously the band (and yes, we are also obvious and proud of it, thankyouverymuch). After we told Josh that we have photographers and reviewers and whoever else not coming, he just looked at us and laughed to the tune of
“Well, I certainly hope we don’t suck tonight, then”

And the good news is, they didn’t.
They did however bounce onto the stage, asked to have the Christmas lights of Iota turned off, and then promptly lost their complete power surge.
ask and you shall receive, no? – as Jen said.
Not to be deterred, Josh proceeded to sing “Snowflake” (aka Cale’s Mom’s favorite Evangelicals song) acoustically and ever so softly, which in its lullaby quality is probably intended to be heard just like that: in a pitch black room with just glimmers of glow paint around.
Then the sound came back on and it all turned into a tizzy of glow-in-the-darkness, guitars chasing the drums, and a sort of a gloriously messy off-off-off Broadway musical.
I was wondering how they would transfer the extremely layered, and sometimes a little haphazard recorded sound and well, they delivered.
The hat at the end was unnecessary,
But since it came in combination with “Skeleton Man” I forgot and forgave.
Next time, lets take them out of the low-keyness of Iota though (which was perfect for Headlights, but a little too subdued for Oklahoma insanity) and put them on some high drama stage.
Like- the Synagogue, for example.
Both for pun and other purposes.

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