It was a mighty hot day when we went to the FNX and Boston Phoenix Best Music Poll concert. When we got to the Bank of America Pavillion, there weren't a lot of people there, and we just relaxed with our tall 16oz beers waiting for the concert to begin. We had pretty good seats, just 14 rows from the stage on the right side.
Here's the line-up:
Robbers on High Street
Louis XIV
Interpol
The Killers
But first things first, we didn't bring a camera, because you weren't allowed to bring them, but it seemed like a whole lotta people just ignored that restriction, making me regret not taking one with us. We couldn't hide it anywhere anyway, because I didn't bring a bag. But I downloaded photos from the web that were taken that day by Diana Ring (who really needs to edit and shoot more than just the frontman, if even that).
Aside from the festival-type atmosphere (hot dogs and sausage for dinner), Newbury Comics had a special stand where the artists would go and autograph posters. Pretty cool. Each group had their own time slot, and well, Brian and I wanted to hear and see the music and the signings pretty much spilled over during sets. Not to mention the LONG line of people waiting. We did have the very brief pleasure of seeing The Killers during their signing, before resigning to our lack of a good view and buying a t-shirt instead.
It really does stink to be an opening act, because you just don't get the same amount of attention as the later and headlining acts. See the empty seats below...
Robbers on High Street
They were pretty good, although the only song we knew was "Japanese Girls". Brian and I were not impressed with their attire, saying that they should have put a little more thought into it, like what the following acts did.
Louis XIV (Even in the hot weather, these guys aren't even breaking a sweat!)
They were very entertaining, and Brian really enjoyed their music. Almost like classic rock and roll. "Finding Out True Love is Blind" is the one popular song we knew, and it was funny how they changed the line "You know it's the girl with a frown with the tight pants I really want to shake up" to "You know it's the girls in the back dancing that I really want to shake up" because there were two girls just going nuts way in the back.
Interpol
This guy had the coolest look of the night and looked like Crispin Glover as the "thin man", just with a side part instead of in the center. The people next to us were drunk off their asses and had a wild time during their performance. The lead singer of Louis XIV stood near our seating area to watch, getting compliments from girls who recognized him. We both knew a few of their songs, and my favorite "new" one was "Narc" (which they're constantly playing on the radio now). I definitely like their sound, but according to an FNX DJ, they're not very friendly. Oh well...as long as they keep producing good tunes.
The Killers
Before taking the stage, "Viva Las Vegas" played overhead, as they are from Las Vegas. Very quirky.
The screens on both sides of the stage now projected the performance, but I refused to watch the screen even during moments of blockage, because it's like watching TV which isn't what I was doing. Wearing not-very high platform sandals didn't help much, and I resorted to standing on my toes through two straight songs before getting tired and just did it occasionally. Couldn't stand on the folding off-white seats.
They had a great set, with Brandon Flowers dropping hints on what would be performed next:
Smile Like You Mean It
Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
Change Your Mind
Andy, You're a Star
Indie Rock Roll
On Top
A new song..."? Faces"
Midnight Show
Mr. Brightside
Somebody Told Me
Under the Gun
All These Things That I've Done
Brian of course had a better view of what was going on, especially with the crowd. He said that during "Somebody Told Me", the crowd was going insane. I loved each song performed and after Mr. Brightside, being my favorite off the album (it's so fun with an absolutely contagious hook), it felt like my shirt was thoroughly wet with sweat. Brandon made a point of saying that we were all waiting for that one.
But the definitive highlight of the night was the encore "All These Things That I've Done" with a few thousand fans chanting "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier" in unison. It was amazing.
We couldn't stop talking about it on the long walk back to the T station (my feet were killing me and the sandal strap broke skin). We listened to the album on my ipod on our T ride home.
This is a great concert season...
All photos by Diana Ring.
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