all photos: Sexy Fitsum (click for full set)
I was extremely pumped to see Hercules and Love Affair at 9:30 club and had been anticipating the moment since they announced the date earlier in the summer. Fuck Gnarls Barkley, that shit is corny (I left after the second song).
The self-titled Hercules album is spectacular and the sound is something I can get behind 100 percent. It is impressive that Mr. Butler took his studio project on the road with a fully backed 8-piece band (instead of copping out by pushing a lazy DJ tour in support of the tour).
When I arrived and they kicked off what was to be a continuous 50-minute set of jams, I was completely underwhelmed by the initial response.
The band looked a bit surprise at the non-excitement and I was a bit scared the energy might not pick up. The mostly white, suburban, cargo-shorts-wearing crowd do not know how to respond to what was overwhelming, joyous music coupled with two vogue dancers posted on large speakers on opposite ends of the stage.
Maybe the show was too early in the night (start time 8:15), but it wasn’t until the band dropped “Blind” on their third track that a real visible group reaction was visible. From there on out, the place built to an eventual frenzy with the band rocking tracks on the album from start to finish in a seamless fashion. The high note of the night was definitely the newest banger, “You Belong.” Overall, Nomi and Kim Ann handled vocal duties in place of Antony Hegarty beautifully and the brass section complimented the driving rhythms with punctuations of bright horn stabs. I think the frat boys might be a bit confused by the hotness of certain members of the “pan-sexual” band. It was also fun that Butler’s mother and sister were in the crowd and the solo dedication of the night went to them.
To wrap things up, Hercules and Love Affair are slowly but surely bringing a great blend of organic and electronic dance music to the masses. Hopefully upon their return to DC they will be headlining the show themselves in a smaller, more intimate environment where they can really turn the dancers out.
How do you know the crowd was suburban?
August 8, 2008 at 12:16 pmso being one of the people who was there just to Hercules and Gnarls’ Reckoner cover, i was also a little surprised by how few people seemed to be digging H&LA from the start, but i think the confused frat boy explanation is cheap and inaccurate. by the end of the set everyone was rocking, it was just that H&LA doesn’t have the major label publicity team and a lot of people had plain never heard of them. but i definitely heard “these guys are awesome” from the bro-crowd way more than i heard anything resembling “are those gay gogo dancers? i’m a frat boy, i have homophobic tendencies and i don’t like this”
also, i’m gonna go ahead and say Kim Ann wasn’t that good. i thought her tracks on the album were a little weak to start and it was amplified live. she was so overshadowed by Nomi she might as well have not been there
August 8, 2008 at 12:24 pmH&LA were amazing amazing.
Let’s, however, be honest — everyone needs a little time to warm up the booty at 8:30pm on a Tuesday. This band should be playing at 2am in an awesome tent somewhere. At least the crowd was bouncing by the end.
(I too was disappointed in Gnarls Barkley after such a joyous, bouncing set of glorious disco.)
August 8, 2008 at 1:53 pmmy crew was dancing on the right side
stage left
right?
(no pun intended)
but yeah most people don’t know how to let music infect them at the 9:30, don’t know what it is, just is
the vogue dancer in the black was better than the one in white, but i appreciated their Banjee shirts and bringing back the form all the same
Paris is burning
agree with Chris, saw Gnarls at ‘07 Grammy’s with a full orchestra, and it was good for his hit Crazy, but i prefer Danger Mouse behind the decks and i just couldn’t get into their live groove, though they’re great musicians
August 8, 2008 at 7:10 pmSorry you didn’t like GNarls, but they kicked ass too. I also enjoyed Hercules. But Gnarls is who I came to see, and Cee-Lo and DM gave me my money’s worth.
August 9, 2008 at 4:22 pmHad never seen Gnarls Barkley before. Had not heard one song by Hercules & Love Affair before. Went not expecting to enjoy myself to the fullest extent.
Verdict: H&LA, though not really my thing (i.e. dance pop,) kicked my ass. Then Gnarls Barkley came out and gave me a show I never knew they had in them. Expectations blown out of the water. Kudos to both.
August 11, 2008 at 9:15 am
More Antony! :(
August 8, 2008 at 11:19 am