Sometimes a bad thing turns out good.
Such was the case on Sunday, when my boyfriend and I attempted to see Pink Spiders, a band whose music we consider a guilty pleasure. An absence of Spider schwag inside the Record Bar concerned me. After paying $15 a piece, we learned that the band had dropped off the bill due to a sick singer. That's what touring the UK with Fall Out Boy gets you.
My disappointment didn't get my $30 back but it did get us coveted spots on the list for the sold-out late show, which, headlined by Shiny Toy Guns, promised to be much more respectable, anyway.
After one drink, we left the kiddie crowd, but returned in time to catch early show headliner Kill Hannah's entire glammed up set. The band's guitars were outfitted with green laser lights. 'Nuff said. Ultimately, I don't mind bands spending half their income on hair products and eyeliner. Some heavily made up acts just sell it better than others. Unfortunately for Chicago's Kill Hannah, there's already this emo goth band from San Francisco called A.F.I., whose frontman sings so well I don't care how melodramatic he gets. (I couldn't stop thinking about A.F.I. the whole time Kill Hannah blasted through one of its own more successful songs, "Lips Like Morphine.")
Everybody got kicked out of the bar between shows. And the evening's typical running-late rock and roll schedule resulted in a line of unhappy fans standing outside for an hour or more. For their frostbite, they were treated to an earlier-than-expected performance by Shiny Toy Guns. Perhaps because the band was next headed to Tokyo, the Guns went on second instead of third. Poor closing act Rome to Paris must have had a hard time following up the dance party.
Most of the Guns set wasn't nearly as silly as breakout single, "Le Disko." The male singer's tones could actually be a bit somber, although not enough to make you want to sit down. Ever. The tech next to me gyrated constantly and played the light effects board like a piano. People were grinding on top of the corner pool table for the whole synth explosion, which included one Depeche Mode cover. The clubby dancers probably had a better view of the tiny girl who lent her huge, husky voice to half of the songs. She had a voice big enough to fill the Uptown Theater next time -- and big enough to drown out any of my lingering Spider sorrow.
-- Crystal K. Wiebe
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