Does It Offend You, Yeah? - 9/7 @ Drunken Unicorn
Been awhile since I've seen a show...or at least a show worth seeing. And it had been some time since I've hung out with my pal Kim. So I killed the proverbial two birds with one stone and met up with Kim to see Does It Offend You, Yeah? at the Drunken Unicorn.
There were two things that immediately came to mind about the band. First off, their name is dumb. Seriously dumb. Like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah dumb, but yet not as dumb as Vampire Weekend. Second, I didn't actually care all that much for their CD when I first heard it. Just seemed like a bunch of noise. But I'm willing to give a band a chance in a live setting, so went to the show regardless. Got there right after the opening band, Inner City Party (I'm pretty sure that was their name) finished and I heard I missed a big laser and light show. Still trying to conceive of anyone attempting a laser and light show inside Drunken Unicorn and I'm kind of sorry I got there late. But I honestly expected the show to start a lot later due to the fact it was at the Drunken Unicorn, even if it was on a Sunday.
But got there right before Does It Offend You, Yeah? went on, so at least I can't complain about that. Musically, I would classify them as Hipster Electronic Dance Rock, basically the kind of stuff that you would hear at Decatur Social Club or Trashed at Lenny's. I say this without being completely sure, because I've never frequented DSC or Trashed for the very reason that I don't really care for Hipster Electronic Dance Rock. But I will say that they put on a very good show. And even though I'm not a fan of their music, they played it well and were very entertaining.
And though I use "Hipster Electronic Dance Rock" to describe them, I'll admit there are a couple of misnomers in that phrase. Partially because there were very few people that were in fact dancing. Possibly because the show was pretty packed out and there was no room to get a groove on. But did spot a few people trying to dance or what looked more like spazzing out. And the show wasn't completely full of hipsters either. Sure there were plenty of scenesters as far as the eye could see, but there was also an interesting mix of what you could only describe as frat guys (very few words come to mind when you have a guy wearing an unironic David Allen Coe t-shirt). Kim and I were both at a loss as to where these people heard of the band and then it dawned on Kim that they had opened for NIN at some point. Yes, that would explain it.
After the band finished, Kim and I escaped out of the side door in the back to avoid the mad rush of the crowd and basically get out of the hot, humid and sweltering club. And from where we stood, we heard their encore cover of Devo quite well. So if'n you're ever interested in a show at the Drunken Unicorn and can't get in, just stand outside the pizza place next door and you'll at least be able to hear it perfectly. Eventually a couple of the band members came out to load stuff up into their Dodge Sprinter and I took a couple of pics of Kim with them for her MySpace page. I didn't realize they were from England, and they were very nice and cordial. And while we were hanging outside, ran into a few folks like Janice, Ian and Chris, who was getting ready to move to Boston, and fortuitously this was his last Atlanta concert or I probably wouldn't have seen him before he left. And rumor had it that another Chris, Chris Blackwell was supposed to show up, but he never materialized. That would've been something if he had. Having Chris Blackwell inside the Drunken Unicorn is even harder to imagine than a band with a laser and light show.
And considering I wasn't expecting all that much from the show, I had a really good time. They were much better live than I anticipated, although I doubt I'll go back and listen to the CD. Not the kind of thing I want to hear in the car, I'll leave it for the clubs. Even the clubs, or club nights, that I don't frequent.
There were two things that immediately came to mind about the band. First off, their name is dumb. Seriously dumb. Like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah dumb, but yet not as dumb as Vampire Weekend. Second, I didn't actually care all that much for their CD when I first heard it. Just seemed like a bunch of noise. But I'm willing to give a band a chance in a live setting, so went to the show regardless. Got there right after the opening band, Inner City Party (I'm pretty sure that was their name) finished and I heard I missed a big laser and light show. Still trying to conceive of anyone attempting a laser and light show inside Drunken Unicorn and I'm kind of sorry I got there late. But I honestly expected the show to start a lot later due to the fact it was at the Drunken Unicorn, even if it was on a Sunday.
But got there right before Does It Offend You, Yeah? went on, so at least I can't complain about that. Musically, I would classify them as Hipster Electronic Dance Rock, basically the kind of stuff that you would hear at Decatur Social Club or Trashed at Lenny's. I say this without being completely sure, because I've never frequented DSC or Trashed for the very reason that I don't really care for Hipster Electronic Dance Rock. But I will say that they put on a very good show. And even though I'm not a fan of their music, they played it well and were very entertaining.
And though I use "Hipster Electronic Dance Rock" to describe them, I'll admit there are a couple of misnomers in that phrase. Partially because there were very few people that were in fact dancing. Possibly because the show was pretty packed out and there was no room to get a groove on. But did spot a few people trying to dance or what looked more like spazzing out. And the show wasn't completely full of hipsters either. Sure there were plenty of scenesters as far as the eye could see, but there was also an interesting mix of what you could only describe as frat guys (very few words come to mind when you have a guy wearing an unironic David Allen Coe t-shirt). Kim and I were both at a loss as to where these people heard of the band and then it dawned on Kim that they had opened for NIN at some point. Yes, that would explain it.
After the band finished, Kim and I escaped out of the side door in the back to avoid the mad rush of the crowd and basically get out of the hot, humid and sweltering club. And from where we stood, we heard their encore cover of Devo quite well. So if'n you're ever interested in a show at the Drunken Unicorn and can't get in, just stand outside the pizza place next door and you'll at least be able to hear it perfectly. Eventually a couple of the band members came out to load stuff up into their Dodge Sprinter and I took a couple of pics of Kim with them for her MySpace page. I didn't realize they were from England, and they were very nice and cordial. And while we were hanging outside, ran into a few folks like Janice, Ian and Chris, who was getting ready to move to Boston, and fortuitously this was his last Atlanta concert or I probably wouldn't have seen him before he left. And rumor had it that another Chris, Chris Blackwell was supposed to show up, but he never materialized. That would've been something if he had. Having Chris Blackwell inside the Drunken Unicorn is even harder to imagine than a band with a laser and light show.
And considering I wasn't expecting all that much from the show, I had a really good time. They were much better live than I anticipated, although I doubt I'll go back and listen to the CD. Not the kind of thing I want to hear in the car, I'll leave it for the clubs. Even the clubs, or club nights, that I don't frequent.