tonyballinger.com

The Subways were fantastic, and the opener The Shys was barely tolerable. It wasn’t that The Shys’ music was that awful – it was mostly listenable. It was the fact that they were SO much more excited to see us than we were to see them. This is Chicago, and like our bands to be aloof to a certain degree. You can’t let us know how much you want us to like you – we’ll never respect you that way. But The Shys were not aloof in the slightest = they took the stage and launched into full-blown theatrics. The keyboardist jumped up and down on his stool like an organ grinder’s monkey, and several attempts were made to instigate a “clap a long”.

None of which is inherently inappropriate behavior for a band, but it was way too early for it. I mean, they just got on stage and 5 minutes in they’re going wild like it’s their second encore. It’s not a great sign where you have so excitement for your own music that your crowd can’t hope to catch up to you. And it didn’t help that the keyboardist looked like he had seen Risky Business one too many times: black sunglasses, white shirt, big grin – a la Tom Cruise. I half expected him to slide across the floor in his underwear for their closing number.

I have to admit, my excitement for this show was tempered by my feeling that I was probably ten years too old to be there. The following lyrics from The Subways’ song “Oh Yeah” says it all…

these teenage years, they sure don’t last…

Very true. But enough of my whining. The Subways quickly dispelled my concerns with their opening number. While the opener reeked of amateur rock theatrics, The Subways were the real deal. Their sound reminded me of The Raveonettes, minus the nostalgia. The bassist was quite a sight too – playing her instrument in fits of motion whenever she wasn’t required to sing. I tried to take a picture, but she was a blur in every photo. It was like trying to photo a hummingbird’s wings.

They played a solid set, and my friend’s and I left satisfied. I’m looking forward to seeing them again next month at Coachella.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 15th, 2006 at 1:47 am and is filed under Concerts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.