16 April 2007 -- Klaxons take Schuba's

We walk to the venue, an old man outside is hawking glow-sticks. I smile broadly and knowingly, looking down at the sidewalk as we walk inside. It's empty, save a few early-birdies and the merch girl who is perched in front of a modest display of shirts, the most interesting upon which "Klaxons are K*nts" is scrawled. A guy hands us flyers and asks if we've designed tees for the band? We haven't, though mine would have been a stolen magazine headline ("Klaxons are MDMAzing"). He takes our photo anyway.

The small room gradually fills up and we find out the opening band is called The Prairie Cartel. The name says 'emo' to me, and even up till the band takes the stage, I am skeptical of th appropriateness of their opening for Klaxons. But as soon as they begin to play, I'm sold. Strong dance beats relying on synthesizers, plastic neon cowbells, and electronic drums are kept in balance by super-fat rock guitar work. The band are a bit repetitive at times (fact: this is an understatement), but their catchiness more than makes up for this. As a person normally indifferent to opening bands, call me impressed. Change your name, Prairie Cartel, cos you guys are winners!

The first band clean themselves up and the roadies take over, taping down setlists, check th equipment, hitting the synth key that begins "Atlantis to Interzone" (it yells DJ!!) and we laugh a little bit. It's kind of absurd, out of context. I look around the room and notice a few gig-goers dressed in the stereotypical klaxon-fashion -- oversized neon hoodies (with hoods up) and straight brimmed hats, rather baggy jeans. What's funny is that Klaxons have tried to get past this image, and have done everything fron changing they way they dress to outlawing glowsticks at their shows. But after I've had enough time to look over the setlist from the crowd, the band stomp on stage and something inside of me lights up when a reflection off Steffan's shoe catches my eye. The light plays on the drummer's shiny gold and black Adidas trainers; Simon wears pointy black ankle boots (right); James in black and leopard print high-top Nikes (left).

Klaxons launch into "The Bouncer" which, while immensely energetically performed, would have been received with much more enthusiasm had it come later in the set, me thinks. But the band do a great job promoting their new(ish) album, Myths of the Near Future, even promising a meet'n'greet to anyone who buys the album at the show. I am tempted.

Klaxons are well-practiced by this time in the tour and have got the crowd going (for the most part), though it takes a little while -- especially in Chicago. Atlantis to Interzone loosens things up while Golden Skans really gets us going. Too bad, but it wasn't till 12 Horsemen that everyone was dancing. Live, they perform a tight set and now gel very well together. Both James and Jamie play synth and bass, switching positions on stage a few times throughout the night. The energy seems to come completely from the music, however, as the band are not quite as eccentric onstage as I have witnessed in the past (maybe they are tired of touring?) At any rate, this is an intimate gig by Klaxons standards as they are used to performing at places like London's Shepherd's Bush Empire (Riviera size, at the least). Overall, they are a fun band with vibrant music, and though the live set does not differ too greatly from the recordings, the recordings are, well, very good. When the audio fuses with the presence of pioneering nu ravers (a term they will reject), unless you have feet of lead and a heart of stone, Klaxons should move you to dancing. With only enough material for a 40-45 minute set, we can only wish they had more songs to play...

What they played:
The Bouncer (cover)
Atlantis to Interzone
Hall of Records
Totem Timeline
Golden Skans
As Above So Below
Two Recievers
Magick
Gravity's Rainbow
Not Over Yet
Isle of Her
12 Horsemen of 2012

Enjoy the photos I managed to take!
xx kd