New Pornographers, The Dodos, Rockport and The Karate Kid

Kate and I had a fun filled weekend beginning Friday with The New Pornographers concert at the House of Blues. The Duchess and the Duke and The Dodos opened for the New Pornographers and they were excellent opening acts. When the Dodos performed the venue was already filled to capacity. I had seen the Dodos a couple of years ago in Portland. They've since added a 3rd band member who contributes sound effects and the occasional xylophone playing. The Dodos alone made the show worth going to, and if possible they were even better than the first time I saw them. They play with an intensity and passion that is pretty much unmatched, and have a sound that is unique.

The New Pornographers were great, they had a bit of a rough start when a disgruntled fan chose to throw a copy of their new cd on stage, one can only assume it was some sort of protest. The band members were clearly a bit taken aback. They tried to make light of it, although Neko Case launched into an expletive ridden tirade about how she was a "white trash bitch" and would fight the person who threw it. This eventually turned into "I'll fight everyone in the audience" before she finally ended admitting she had taken it too far. I got the feeling the band may have had a little back stage drama before the show because they looked tired and stressed. By about the third or fourth song into the set it turned around and it was a stellar, high energy show.
Daniel Bejar might give Stephen Merritt of the Magnetic Fields a run for his money in terms of eccentricities. Bejar is definitely the band member who does not fit in, which is saying something considering the vocalist/ keyboardist Katherine Calder is about ten years younger than the rest of the group. Bejar tended to leave the stage on many songs, and when he was there, unless he was singing he would perform with his back to the audience. I had read about this but forgot about it. A.C. Newman joked that Bejar had wet himself at one point, which I'm sure is probably a reoccurring act at shows. He was probably one of my favorites of the group. Katherine seemed to get enjoyment from the audience appreciation of the couple of songs which she led. Their set list spanned their discography, and they performed a three song encore. A crowd favorite was probably "My slow descent" (into alcoholism).

The very first opener, The Duchess and the Duke were a pleasant surprise. I'd call them a cross between folk grunge and rockabilly, and yes they were from Seattle. They consisted of a woman vocalist on guitar, a dude with a bumping beard on guitar, and a guy who seemed to sort of be the unofficial lead, even though besides vocals he just played tambourine. They were all slightly overweight, and the tambourine man, may or may not have been drunk. Their songs were filled with emotion, and they harmonized excellent together.

Saturday afternoon Kate and I went to Rockport and walked around in the wonderful weather. On Sunday, the weather seemed a bit questionable and we decided to see a movie. We caught the new Karate Kid movie which was exactly what I expected it to be, entertaining summer fluff, it was a nice escape. We may try to see Toy Story on IMAX next week.

Well... time to get ready for another week at work.