small immunities

jakec:

LOS CAMPESINOS! ON LETTERMAN. Everything about this is delightful for me.

So last night marked the third night in a row that I went to a Los Campesinos! concert, which brings my total to every show they’ve ever done in Ontario plus two in New York, which is… a lot? More shows than I’ve seen with any other band, that’s for sure.

And look, I like this performance a lot (and Gareth and Letterman sparring went about as I would have expected, the crotchety old goof (Letterman, not Gareth)), and I know that a TV performance does not even come close to being comparable to front-of-the-house concert experiences, but I still feel kind of sorry for anyone who watches this video who doesn’t get to see them live. Because jesus, as good as they were when I first saw them at Hillside, they’ve gotten immeasurably better. Tom is still one of my favourite guitarists, period (no disrespect to Neal, who is also very good but tends not to play the lead parts), and just generally they’ve gotten both looser (their stage presence was always engaging, but it’s gotten much better; the songs, both old and new, tend to sound better live) and tigheter (everything is just flawlessly executed, really).

And look, I love “You! Me! Dancing!,” I always will, and the crowd goes nuts for it… but at this point, after three nights in a row, I can genuinely tell you that I’d rather listen to them play “The Black Bird, the Dark Slope” or “Hello Sadness” or “Songs About Your Girlfriend” (or hell, “Romance Is Boring” or “Ways to Make It Through the Wall”) than the really old stuff.* The first album is such a distinct thing that I get why people might like it and nothing else, but I really think they’re missing out on the fact that LC! turned into a far better, more interesting band than even I thought they’d be. So yes, I plan to continue seeing them every time they come to town, or anywhere remotely close.

I guess if I haven’t seen them recently and you ask me about live bands they don’t always spring to mind, but that’s more because it’s apples and oranges than anything else. There are bands I’ve enjoyed live, even bands that have really knocked me out (GY!BE, for example), and then there’s LC! They’re not really the same, you know?

* The exception here being “Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks,” which I hope they always, always end their shows with. The only other really old one they played was “Death to Los Campesinos!,” which was also excellent. I’m not knocking any of the old songs, I’m just saying they’ve gotten better.

(Source: jakec)