Brightest Young Things

Words by: Salvatore Colleluori

Photos Courtesy of: Dakota Fine

For about 3 weeks prior to this show I watched my computer screen everyday anticipating which DC band was going to get the coveted headliner spot on the opening night of the Rock and Roll Hotel 3 year anniversary party.  Then the day of reckoning came.  Jukebox the Ghost probably one of my all time favorite bands let alone DC bands was headlining.  Jukebox's members are not only great musicians, but also great people which makes it all the sweeter that they would have closing duties for the evening.

I had spoken to Ben Thornwill a few days before the show so I was already anticipating all the new music that I was about to hear that evening.  Not only was I to hear completely new Jukebox tunes but I had never seen any of the other bands live.  Despite all my myspace/byt listening of the bands I was there to finally judge for myself the quality of the DC music.

I showed up about 15 minutes into the Tereu Tereu set after a guest list snafu which was quickly solved after running into Jesse from Jukebox in the bathroom.  Already my night started off eventful.  Tereu Tereu combines great rock structure with a sole trumpet which adds a unique brass sound that really intrigued me.  Towards the end of the set Tommy from Jukebox came on stage to rock out a bit with Tereu Tereu.  For me, this was an early highlight.  It's always special when musicians come out to play in each others sets and really creates a great vibe and increases the energy in the bands and audience alike.

Bellman Barker was next up and they ended up playing a couple new tunes.  I thought they had a really great sound and a good image and got the crowd into it quickly but towards the end of the set they began to linger and it seemed like they lost a bit of the energy they started with.  I was a bit unimpressed by them however.  I heard some of their stuff on the internet and thought that it was much more appealing than their live show.  Sometimes the crowd really plays into how a band performs and this might have not been the right fit for these guys.

Title Tracks was the third band of the evening and also what I felt was a case of the better on the internets.  I really liked their stuff on myspace and I thought the catchy pop tunes would be a great introduction to Jukebox the Ghost.  However, when I saw them in the real life they seemed a little off and lackluster.  I decided this was the part of the show to go grab another round and try and work my way up towards the front for Jukebox.  I hope next time I see Title Tracks they will put on a better live show for me because I know that they are a great band and I would just like to see it for myself.

So, I knew Jukebox was going to be good.  But I did not think that I was going to so quickly get into their new material.  I had heard a couple of these songs before when did were still into the demo/writing/planning stages but to hear them polished in the live setting and actually really good, was the icing on top of the cake.  I wasn't paying attention too closely to the titles of the songs but I can tell you that when Ben said they would still be fun and poppy with a bit of maturity he wasn't kidding.  You can tell the songwriting has gotten more complex and the themes are a bit more sophisticated.  Ben kept thanking the audience for sticking with him and the band even though people didn't know the new material and couldn't sing along as usual.  Ultimately, (because they had to for themselves and us) they came out for a double encore which featured Victoria and Good Day off of their first album.  The still near capacity crowd sang along and danced as I had seen at many Jukebox shows before.  Now I know that soon we will be singing along and dancing to some new great songs as well as our old favorites.

Previously in Live DC:

• 2/14: PHOTOS: Art Soiree's Love Masquerade
• 2/14: LiveDC: Sharon Van Etten/ Shearwater @ Black Cat
• 2/14: LiveDC: Die Antwoord @ 930 Club
• 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