Electric Six + Local H + Japanese Motors - Neumos (Seattle, WA; Nov. 3, 2008)

“Tomorrow is election night, but tonight is erection night!”

It was these auspicious words by Electric Six front-man Dick Valentine that certainly summed up the evening concert. The Detroit sextet brought their brand of funk-infused dance/rock to Neumo’s, with only a side of political discourse. After all, this was the eve of a presidential election, and Valentine would have been remiss in his duty as a guy with a microphone not to make a point of it. Politics aside, E6 rewarded the relatively small Monday crowd with an energetic, fist-pumping, aggressive performance.

Opening the show was California’s Japanese Motors with a brief but delightful set of SoCal garage/pop numbers. Lead singer (and pro-surfer) Alex Knost led the band through a series of catchy—albeit simple and unpolished—surf-punk melodies that succeeded in getting a majority of the sparse crowd moving, or at least intrigued enough to visit their website (to find it parked, so here’s the MySpace link) after the show. Highlights included “Better Trends” and “Spendin’ Days,” both from their recently released self-titled debut on Vice Records.

Alternative rock stalwarts Local H followed, shifting gears rather abruptly, with a set of eardrum-straining testosterone that delighted much of the crowd, many of whom were only there to see this duo. While it is commendable for any band to incite anything remotely resembling a mosh pit at a Capitol Hill venue these days, the band has steadfastly stuck to the sound that brought them success during the heyday of mid-90s alternative (read: loud and angsty). Lead singer and guitarist Scott Lucas and drummer Brian St. Clair rumbled through a well executed set that included old and new songs, including “Cynic,” “High-Fiving MF,” and “24 Hour Break-Up Session.”

Nearing midnight, the increasingly impatient crowd was finally rewarded with the band that most of them had come to see. Five costumed, inebriated Abraham Lincolns (an homage to E6’s “Gay Bar” video) joined the rest of the raucous crowd in welcoming Electric Six to the stage for what Valentine called their “record-setting seventh show at Neumo’s.”

The band opened with “Flashy Man,“ a track from their just-released Flashy, and set the tone for what would be a hard ninety minutes of aural gratification. Valentine came on stage wearing a large purple cape, either a genuine or facetious send-up to the Godfather of Soul. After the opener, the cape was removed to reveal yet another cape underneath with the word “Showtime” emblazoned on the back, which the band subsequently played. It’s this type of tongue-in-cheek faux-pomposity that Electric Six excels at, and it makes their live show all the more enjoyable to witness.

Valentine commanded the stage with a contagious vigor that electrified the crowd and kept the floors shaking. At times, he strutted around, mic stand in hand, egging on his bandmates and the eager crowd who were happy to go along for the ride. Other times, he was happy to sit back with a sneer and watch the madness that he and his mates created, as their frenzied followers erupted in celebration of the insanity.

It should be noted that the rest of the band deserves just as much of the credit as their energetic leadman, especially the rhythm section of drummer Percussion World (Mike Alonso) and bassist Smorgasbord! (Keith Thompson), who turned out some funky grooves that allowed the rest of the band to compliment with some heavy guitar and slick synth lines. Some of Electric Six’s best moments on stage came from their bass and keyboard dominated moments, which provided a solid contrast to Valentine’s electrifyingly harsh vocal delivery.

A prime example is “Down at McDonaldz,” from their 2007 album, I Shall Exterminate Everything Around Me That Restricts Me From Being the Master. The disco-inspired drumming and Valentine’s on-point falsetto delivery was perfect for a song about . . . well, who knows what it’s about? Introspective lyrics are definitely not among the band’s strong points, but it doesn’t seem to matter to either the band or their fans. Valentine himself has even said that most of their songs aren’t about anything in particular.

Anyway, back to the show. After noticing the Abe–Lincoln clad quintet of supporters, Valentine poked fun at their seeming lack of acceptance of the band’s new songs.

Valentine (sarcastically): “It’s really great to see that you’re embracing our new stuff. All you want is the old material! I wish it was 2003, too.”

Two songs later, they played the opening riff to “Gay Bar,” and the band watched as, like something out of Stephen A. Douglas’ worst nightmare, the gallivanting 16th presidents raged in phallic excitement.

The new-wave inspired “Randy’s Hot Tonight” showcased Tait Nucleus? (Chistopher Tait) on keyboards and provided one of the night’s musical highlights despite it not being as high-energy as some of their hits, such as 2003’s “Danger! High Voltage” and “Dance Epidemic.”

I was a bit disappointed with the relative briefness of the band’s set, and was glad when they came back on stage and Dick Valentine said they “didn’t come here to play 13 songs. We came here to play 17 songs!” The encore included the self-reflectively (and -effacingly?) titled “Gay Bar, Part 2” from their new record, and closed with a trio of crowd-pleasing rockers: “We Were Witchy Witchy White Women,” “Formula 409,” and the catchy “Dance Commander.”

I had never seen Electric Six before, and was equally as impressed with the energy and excitement that they brought to the venue as I was with their ability to sustain that energy through the entirety of the set. While it is approaching cliché to say that they are ‘genre-busting,’ this is certainly a band that warrants a visit to one of their shows in order to get a sense of their music on a grander level than simply listening to the records. Abraham Lincoln costume not required.

review to your liking? You'll sweat:

Ghostland Observatory - Crystal Ballroom (Portland, OR; Apr. 3, 2008)

The Dandy Warhols + Darker My Love + The Upsidedown - Wilbur Theatre (Boston, MA; Sept. 16, 2008)

Ghostland Observatory - Showbox at the Market (Seattle, WA; Apr. 5, 2008)

0 comments thus far ...

Concerts We Recommend

melophobe sponsors

Connect To melophobe

1. melophobe
2. concert reviews
3. fifty-word reviews
4. articles
5. links
6.