!!! at the Metro

March 23, Carolina and I headed to the Metro to see !!! live without any real expectations of what their live set would look like. Seemingly nothing more than a dance and funk outfit, the possibility of an all-out 2-hour dance marathon appeared most likely. But at the end of the night, the crowd was a stew of b.o., junkies, and stripping. Oh, and Jeff Albert was there. Hey, Jeff!

Toronto's Holy F*** took the stage in punctual fashion at 9:00 PM. And while I expected the band to just repeatedly seek attention by announcing their ridiculous name, their performance was an exciting and interesting electro-dance, mostly instrumental set of short tunes. Kevin O'Sullivan had described the band as "drum and bass with some f***ed up electronic s***." I didn't know whether to expect fun and energetic (IQU) or flat out disorganized noise (World's End Girlfriend).

Pet peeves about live electronic acts? Songs that drag. Nothing to see on stage. But H.F. avoided both of those trends.

Beats were smooth and catchy and songs ended just before it felt like they were dragging. The drummer was in clear view next to a bassist who didn't seem to add much to the performance except some type of conventional stage performance aesthetic. Two mix and electronic artists were the focus on opposite sides of the stage with all sorts of film reels, melodica, vocoder, turntable, and effects. A lanky feller in a t-shirt that had some joke about interpretive dance was really into it, and Carolina shot me looks to his head-bobbing, shoulder-twitching dance moves.







After H.F., !!! took the stage around 10:15, and here's a rough setlist for ya'll (any help with this is appreciated):

1. Myth Takes
2. All My Heroes Are Weirdoes.
3. KooKooka...
4. Must Be the Moon
5. Pardon My Freedom
6. Yadnus
7. A New Name
8. ???
9. Heart of Hearts
10. Break in Case of Anything
11. ???

Halfway into the first song, interpretive dance dude gets shoved repeatedly by some junkie with long blonde hair. Apparently fragile and not realizing that tends to happen when people get excited at crowded club shows, Kevin Bacon decides to summon the Metro's security. Three times.

But the mosh was inevitable, and it lasted from the front to the end of the set. Carolina and I set a goal of discovering who was the most worthless member of !!! The award might go to one of the players that 'helps out' on percussion and plays saxophone on one song. Nic Offer danced to every measure, like a cleaned-up Mickey Avalon. Shaking hips, jumping around, and free to do whatever he pleased with the mic, he never looked bored--even during the !!! tunes that are mostly instrumental.

Mario Andreoni's guitar sounded as crystal clear live as it did on Myth Takes (which might be their best 'album' to date). But the intricate bass lines and percussion are what drive the live music, and they did not disappoint.

Some unknown black female vocalist was just as entertaining on stage, dressed like Linnell from the Borat movie, she fired up the crowd and danced crazier than a Springer guest, adding more of a club dimension to the scene.

But the funk band had more of a punk crowd, and the pushing and jumping continued for 80 minutes. Tremendous energy on the whole floor, and !!! delivered big time. The night ended on somewhat of a disappointment though. The set was shorter than it could have been (especially for a $16 ticket), and I had never heard a crowd cheer louder for an encore and not receive it. Clapping and screaming continued for 15-20 minutes until almost all instruments were carried off stage and the finality of the show was obvious. No performance of "Me and Giuliani Down by the Schoolyard."

Definitely check out !!! if they're in the area, but expect a little violence and intensity along the way.
Read more!

Ted Leo and the Hoodie Conspiracy: A Timeline

October 2006
Ted Leo performs at the LaFortune Ballroom. Suddenly, then-Station Manager Catherine McGeeney realizes that Ted Leo worked at WVFI yet has no signature WVFI hoodie. The troops rally for a change. Unfortunately there are no hoodies to be had at the time of his visit.


Spring 2006
A fresh order of WVFI hoodies arrives at the station, yet no one has Leo's contact info. He remains without hoodie.

March 12, 2007
The first exclusively Leo MINDset post is made about a video on AOLmusic. If Leo would have owned a hoodie at the time, surely a WVFI plug would have made it past the video editing board.










March 20, 2007
Release of Living With the Living, Leo's fifth full-length album without possession of a WVFI hoodie. Meanwhile, MINDsetters Chris Wodicka and Joe Lattal decide to buy tickets (actually Chris bought them) to see Leo perform in Chicago later that season.





ca. April 25, 2007
An attempt at myspace message correspondence is made, notifying Leo that WVFIers will be attending his Chicago gig, and we hope to deliver a hoodie to him personally.


April 28, 2007, 6:30 PM
Plans to eat at a Giordano's on Belmont are screwed up by impossible parking conditions in Boystown and poor service (despite a perfectly executed order-ahead). Not only does the group head to Leo's show late (which now includes fellow MINDsetters Kelly Duoos, Christine Nguyen, and Steve Fabian), missing the openers Love of Diagrams, but they miss any chance of handing off a WVFI hoodie directly to Leo before he takes the stage.


8:00 PM
The group arrives at the venue only to find that the Metro floor is already packed, and the MINDset group will have to reside near the back. Ted takes the stage and opens with the closing chords of "My Vien Ilyn" before going into "Sons of Cain."

9:58 PM
Realizing that it's now or never for the hoodie, Duoos and Nguyen push me through a crowd to the front to attempt a hoodie launch. With only a few measures left of "Walking To Do," I heave it over his head, between Leo and his second guitarist, in an attempt for the hoodie to be seen but not interrupt the performance. Only one of those goals was met. No one seems to notice the hoodie on the stage. Leo continues with a cover of Chumbawumba's "Rappaport's Testament," while the second guitarist glances at the hoodie like a rag.

10:08 PM
The band leaves the stage, no one picks up the hoodie. But hope springs that someone will discover it, realize its intent for the upper half of Leo's body, and return it to its rightful recipient.

10:15-12:00 PM
Several phone calls are made to multiple contacts in my cell phone saved as "Ted Leo." No response. I leave several stress-saturated messages that there is a hoodie for him back at the Metro.

April 29, 2007
Phone calls continue in the afternoon, but now the calls go straight to voice mail.

May 23, 2007, 8:50 PM
Waiting for Holy F*** to take the stage before !!!, Carolina Surla suggests that I call Ted one more time to follow up on the hoodie. He answers on the third ring. I explain the reason for my call. He says, "oh, man. I didn't see it [the WVFI hoodie] there. I really want one of those." Leo tells me he will send me contact info to mail him one.

The legend continues.
Read more!