Client came through town (town being Vienna, which is where William is currently reporting from Pity the poor girls, that is, Client A and Client B (Sarah Blackwood from the band Dubstar and Kate Holmes out of Frazier Chorus), first for joining in on the electropop wagon just a little too late, and then, in spite of being signed to a mute records subsidiary (Toast Hawaii), failing to make a splash.
They have a clutch of killer tunes (”Burning Up” and “In it for the Money” probably the best among them), some great remixes (see the Cicada remix of “Here and Now”), collaborations with various stars of the firmament (Daniel Miller, Carl Barat, Pete Doherty, Martin Gore), snazzy air hostess uniforms, vaguely sado-masochist lyrics, icy vocals, and that general saucy naughtiness that suited Goldfrapp lo’ these past few albums. And, they’re very, very nice people. Yet somehow, they have entirely failed to set the world ablaze.
So it was with this air of anticipatory disappointment that I awaited their gig at the Chelsea in Vienna. Chelsea’s a lovely place, inside the Gurtel (sort of their inner-inner-loop), owned by a convivial Anglo-philic Austrian named Ottmar, who plays Premiership matches every weekend. The crowd was pretty large - they play better to the Germanics than in the States - and they started with a thumping version of “In It for the Money.”
Client A and B were joined by a gorgeous new bassist, whose name I didn’t quite get, strutting in their matching uniforms, down to the pleather gloves and matching heels. They tried some banter, they fielded some requests, but I still couldn’t shake the idea that this ship was better on the way up than on the way down.
“Xerox Machine,” though, is a great original song by Adam and the Ants, and Client do set to the task of covering it with some vigor. A bit of fun through the visceral rush for a minute or two.
But, by about three minutes in, the attention wanders. And I never did like the Libertines’ collaboration, “Pornography,” so it’s better that it was buried later in the set. They did credible versions of “Underground,” “Rock and Roll Machine,” “Client,” and a storming “Here and Now” that bled into “Pills.”
There were some encores, and the crowd seemed well pleased, but I was left, well, a little cold. The conversation afterwards was charming, and wow, that bassist is pretty - did I mention that?
But in the end, the frozen-in-kitch charm of the early electropop revival is very, very over.
Poor girls. If they’re in it for the money, then they must be happy with very little.
i really like their dresses
October 30, 2007 at 9:31 am“Client A and B were joined by a gorgeous new bassist, whose name I didn’t quite get…”
ruth. her name is ruth. and she is my new best friend.
whatever happened to the hot icelandic boy???
October 30, 2007 at 9:44 amI will say I do sort of want to be them for Halloween.
Collectively.
if we weren’t so non-pale, i’d be right there with you
maybe we can do the brown girls version of their group
too bad i’m seeing Moz in Baltimore on Wed
i think you should be a brown girl moz. make quiffs cool again.
October 30, 2007 at 11:58 amdidn’t know CLIENT were playing near DC. i probably wouldn’t have gone anyway. i haven’t played any of their tunes since their “heyday.” i think all of the post-electroclash groups still touring should just give it up. their latest works are all horrible: PEACHES, ADULT, MISS KITTIN, MOUNT SIMS, etc.
October 30, 2007 at 2:36 pmOh, when we said, Vienna-we meant Austria.
Not Virginia.
william, william it was really nothing
at a swing dance event this summer, there was a Grease night, and yes, my friend styled a pompadour for it
geek checking in, yet again
i believe photographic evidence is posted on the comment section of my myspace page
i hate saying my myspace “anything”
so repetitive
ahh, THAT vienna…as in austria. was there last february. had a blast. one of the drunkest vacations EVER! anyway, i still stand behind my statement that i wouldn’t have gone ESPECIALLY if i’d been in austria…
October 30, 2007 at 11:41 pmoh steve. it was actually pretty awesome - mainly because it was in this great bar in vienna that you would likely want to hang out in anyway….plus, it was fun seeing viennese hipsters shake their asses - which they did, a lot. and it was fun seeing the band in such a small place, which in the end facilitated being able to hang out with them after. it was so fun - and yeah, client are lackluster, but given the opportunity again, i would do exactly the same thing…with one or two fewer shots…
October 31, 2007 at 9:13 am
These ladies bore the balls off me.
October 30, 2007 at 8:34 am