An Apology to Opening Bands

Astute readers may have noticed a recent sharp decline in my commentary on opening bands at the last few shows I’ve been to. Normally I like to give them a reasonable amount of room in my review because, if they’re good, they deserve a bit more exposure. This past few weeks, however, going back to the Arcade Fire on Sept. 26, I’ve had a bad habit of showing up kind of late.
I would like to say that the two songs I caught from LCD Soundsystem at the Arcade Fire show were excellent. They play an interesting mix of indie rock and electronic dance music, and are not afraid to jam on either of those tips. Their last song was called “New York, I love you But You’re Bringing me Down” and I thought it was decidedly worth listening to you, so that’s the song I’ll be providing.
The Bravery opened up for the Smashing Pumpkins, and I likewise only heard the last couple of songs. I rather enjoy their hit single “Time Won’t Let me Go” because I can relate to it; I never had a Summer of ‘69, either. I assume this was played earlier in the set because I didn’t recognize any of the stuff I heard. And if I heard it again, I still don’t think I’d recognize it, whereas I could tell either LCD Soundsystem song I heard, and maybe spot some stuff I didn’t hear as being LCD SS. The Bravery sounded pretty much like…I dunno what the hip kids are calling the genre, but whatever you’d call the Killers. Also: Bands from New York and LA, you look as stupid in skin-tight denim as Stryper looked in spandex twenty years ago. Cut it out, seriously.
Really all I can tell you about the bands that opened for Saves the Day is that they were called Single File and Dr. Manhattan, and that Dr. Manhattan is a really cool name for a band. I missed these sets due to all the walking involved in getting to Kilby that night. Sorry guys, maybe next time.
So the winners of the winners of Best Opening Band during my Early Autumn Concert Blitz is LCD Soundsystem. Give ‘em a nice round o’ applause!