Roseland is kinda like the fuck buddy that you keep saying you'll never go back to...but somehow s/he manages to lure you back in with some kind of attractive asset. For Roseland last night, it was the sedcuctive line up of:
The AnnualsThe WalkmenKaiser ChiefsThese are all really solid bands, but somehow Roseland found a way to fuck it up (there's a surprise). Uh, what was going on with the sound board dude? The acoustics and sound were really unacceptable. The drums were way too loud and it seemed as though the vocalists (of every band) felt the need to scream over the poorly-balanced instrumentation.
I got there just in time to catch The Annuals wrap up their set and heard my favorite song "Complete or Completing". They were super intense and I'm sure it'd be a real treat to see them in a smaller venue.
The Walkmen were up next and were great. I only wish they had a little more energy. Seemed like they were super tired. Even so, they nailed their set and I hope to see them sometime at a better venue. Not sure if you can tell from the pic above, but they brought in horns! Maureen was super excited about that and it added a really nice dimension to the songs.
Exhibit A: check out that hair!
Exhibit B: Check out that hair AND their non-stop chitter chatter.
The crowd last night blew. They seemed to not care that a show was happening before their very eyes. During The Walkmen, we got stuck behind a crowd of Jersey guidos who were talking on their cell phones and loudly with their other douchebag friends during the show(See Exhibit B). I got really irate. This kind of behavior is disrespectful to the bands as well as your fellow concert-goers. If you want to horse around and shoot the shit, please go to a god damn bar instead of taking up space and blocking the view of short girls all around you. I swear to you their hair probably added another 3 inches to their height (See Exhibit A). So I couldn't see The Walkmen because of guy's god damn hair!!!
Oh wait, can we talk about the rude venue staff? The bathroom nazi, anyone? The guy downstairs was screaming at people to stand in the girls' bathroom line in a particular way, then once you actually made it inside,
Livenation had hired a mexican lady to sit there and ask you to hurry up with your personal business so other people could get in and pee before the show started. Yes, it's true! Maureen and I sat outside the bathrooms to check out text messages and the bathroom nazi came over to us and told us we had to go back upstairs. The man was on a rampage. He was scolding everyone who was lingering downstairs and had already fulfilled their mission of emptying a bladder. He made me feel like i was in high school again, like i was leaving class without a hall pass and was destined for lunch detention.
Exhibit C: Going in for another kiss. Awesome.
We also go to experience the 24/7 make-out couple. Y'all know who I'm talking about. Those couples that can't seem to physically separate their mouths during a show. We had one of those get up in our personal areas during one of the first Kaiser Chief songs. That was kind of the last straw for me. We heard four Kaiser Chief songs, including "Ruby", and then peaced out.
I will say that the Kaiser Chiefs sounded great. Well, as great as you can sound in Roseland. Their frontman was incredibly energetic and his voice sounded just like the album! I was impressed. Too bad the days are gone when they would play Mercury Lounge. I have a feeling that an intimate setting with all the right acoustics for the KC could lead to a pretty perfect evening. I do wish I hadn't gotten so pissed off about the non-musical aspects of the show and stuck it out to see their entire set.
I really love Maureen because she understands the importance of FOOD. To soothe our battered concert-going souls, we headed over to Kyotofu for some really delicious appetizers and deserts. The overall design of the food and space is magnificent. The flavors are full, unexpected, and pure bliss. The service is excellent. I was so happy, it almost made up for Roseland.
Sorry these pics suck. I'll fix them when I get back to my crib.
