Brightest Young Things

words by Sarah Harman, photos by J.D. Edwards

In a city where many weeknights slip by without a single decent show, it's unfortunate that Stereo Total and Ratatat were scheduled to play the same night. It was a tough call, but I tend to root for the little guy, so Thursday evening I said goodbye as my friends hoped in taxis bound for the 9:30 club, and  began the lonely trek to the Cat to see Stereo Total.

I arrived mid-way through the set by opener’s Karmella’s Game. They Baltimore-based band seemed to subscribe to the "show how cool we are by dressing like we don't care." Their overgrown middle-school aesthetic was even less impressive than their music, which left me wondering if perhaps I'd made the wrong choice.

After three songs that sounded strikingly similar and a long intermission, Francoise and Brezel took the stage. Francoise appeared in a bright green button-up and forrest green blazer, which in combination with her shaggy red hair and tiny rectangular glasses, made her look like the very adorable lovechild of Elton John and a Christmas tree.

As Brezel kicked off the show with a little multi-lingual intro, I was reminded why I love Stereo Total so much in the first place. If the best thing about Stereo Total is their music, then the second best thing has to be their accents. The combination of Francoise’s kitty-cat French accent and Brezel’s slightly robotic German inflection made every word out of their mouth sound 150% more exciting.

Francoise introduced one of the first numbers, “Ich bin der Stricherjunge” as a song about a male hustler with smoker’s lung.  Since Francoise wasn't able to bring her trumpet on tour (thanks TSA!) she pulled out a kazaoo and gave the song an innovative twist. It wasn't quite like the original, but it was fun, silly, and cool—just like the Stereo Total I’ve always loved.

Not all of their linguistic experimentation was quite as successful. The attempt at an English translation of "L’amour a Trois” was at the once the best and most disappointing moment of the show. Francoise coaxed a curly haired teenage boy from the audience to sing the refrain in French (J'aime l'amour a trois), much to the delight of the audience (and the amused boy's friend.)  But while the audience involvement was a big hit with the crowd, the English version of the song, which inadvertently added another lover in effort to keep the rhyme scheme("I love to make love to three people at the same time”) , lacked the simple charm of the original.

Most of the energy from the opening songs came from Brezel. As you might expect from a man’s whose name translates as “Pretzel,” Brezel had his share of wacky antics,  bouncing off the walls, the stage, and occasionally Francoise. At one point he decided to do a stage dive and he had to coax enough people to move towards the front to catch him. Despite the crowds' intial reticence, Brezel soldiered on with the energy and enthusiasm of an unmedicated toddler. His persistence seem to pay off, as his enthusiasm spread through the crowd; by the final number, Francoise and Brezel summoned a large portion of the crowd onto the stage for “I Hate Everybody in the Dicotheque.”

Their final song, did an encore rendition of “Meow, meow,” (by audience request,) and although Françoise claimed to have trouble remembering some of the lyrics, she managed to pull it off wonderfully.

Previously in Live DC:

• 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
• 2/7: LiveDC: Augustana/ Graffiti6 @ 930 Club
• 2/6: LiveDC: All Things Go Presents: Reptar/ Casual Curious/ Fort Lean @ Gibson Guitar Showroom
• 2/6: LiveDC: TYCHO/ Beacon @ RNR Hotel
• 2/6: LiveDC: The Kills / Jeff The Brotherhood @ 9:30 Club