Saturday, April 10, 2010

The XX Concert Review - Varsity Theater Minneapolis

The XX played the Varsity Theater tonight on the U of M campus, and despite a really late curtain time, the show was worth the wait. The sold out show was commanding over $100 per ticket on Craigslist, so my purchase of $65 on StubHub a month ago looked like a good investment. As you can see by the picture, despite the sell-out, I had a great location; just a couple of people deep.

Random points on tonight's show:
  • The Varsity is an incredible venue. Great location, comfortable layout, and funky common bathroom area for both the boys and girls makes it a pretty hip place for a band like The XX.
  • JJ was second act (the first was a DJ from LA with a pretty good sound), and their set was best defined as odd. Weird videos in the background, hair brushing up against the microphone, and the male partner walking on stage, playing a couple of notes on guitar and leaving. Just odd.
  • The XX came on just after 11:00 and played for slightly more than an hour. Their limited library of work is the likely culprit, but they sounded and looked awesome. The music was too loud, and it didn't help that I was exactly under the speakers stage right. In fact it was so loud that particles from the ceiling were shaking off and falling on those of us in the area. Literally.  Of course, I forgot my earplugs again. What?
  • The Oldest Guy at the Concert T-Shirt was a hit yet again tonight. This was a very young crowd, so I really stood out.
  • The band's sound is Spartan, so when a note gets missed it stands out. There were not a lot of these, but a couple that made you take notice. Despite that, the vocal stylings between Romy Madley Croft and Jamie Smith were wonderful, and what make The XX such a unique band with such a signature sound.
  • Song of the night for me was Crystalised - their lead off after the cool intro, but there were many more strong efforts as well.
This will be a fun band to keep an eye on. If their sound can evolve and mature, I predict big things for them in the coming year. Great show.

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