Tapes ‘N Tapes – Club Dada – 01/30/09

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Hit up Club Dada for my first time ever twice this weekend; once for Tapes ‘N Tapes on Friday, then again on Saturday for Titus Andronicus/Los Campesinos!  The setup there is a little awkward in that the bar is right dead center in the middle of the club, so the usable space for patrons where they can actually see the band is only about 1/2 of the floor space of the club, so it’s a little strange and frustrating.  The sound there is also just ok, I wasn’t real impressed, but it wasn’t terrible, either, but the bands all kept asking for adjustments during the shows.  On top of all of this, the formerly great venue Trees sits just across the street completely unused.  Frustrating, to be sure.  Venue issues aside, Tapes ‘N Tapes put on a great show, playing a breathless set of nothing but the hits. 

When we arrived, we barely caught the tail end of the second opening band, the identically hipster-dressed Wild Light, so I can’t say I really had enough time to even get an impression of their set, but here’s a photo: 

After a short turnaround, TNT took the stage and opened with the great Jackov’s Suite.  Not the catchiest song on earth, but it’s a solid tune and an interesting and effective way of opening the set.  After, they hit some of the more instantly catchy tunes such as Hang Them All, Le Ruse, Headshook, Time of Songs before slowing things down some.  A quick aside, one thing that was amusing to me was there was this girl/groupie/whatever standing front and center the whole show, who did NOT seem to be enjoying herself.  Instead, she just hardcore stared at the band and didn’t move or smile for the whole show.  Observe:

So odd.  Anyways, as far as their studio stuff goes, I – like pretty much everyone – am  a much bigger fan of their first album, The Loon than I am of Walk it Off.  I have to say that live, the tunes from Walk it Off had more energy and came across much better live than the ones from The Loon.  Maybe the band is tired of playing the same old tracks from their first album for 4 years, or maybe the hard driving guitars common to most tracks of Walk it Off just lend themselves more to a more powerful live performance.  I think it’s probably a mix of the two, and while the older songs didn’t disappoint, their newer stuff was really something to pay attention to. 

Closing out the set with The Dirty Dirty and Just Drums after they played Insistor was a strange choice to me.  It seems like they maybe should have closed the main set with Insistor, then come back for an encore of the other two, but sadly, like when Ben saw these guys in Chicago, there was no encore to be had.  Just Drums finished and they were O-U-T.  Although I don’t understand refusing to do an encore (looking at you, Cat Power), the show was excellent and I highly recommend to anyone to go check out Tapes ‘N Tapes and groove right out.

Tapes ‘N Tapes - George Michael - From Walk It Off
Tapes ‘N Tapes – Insistor – From The Loon

Setlist (as best as I can put together):

Jackov’s Suite
Hang Them All
The Iliad
Le Ruse
Headshook
Time of Songs
Cowbell
Ten Gallon Ascots
George Michael
?
In Houston
Manitoba
Insistor
The Dirty Dirty
Just Drums

Upcoming Tourdates:

2.20 – Legends – South Bend, IN
2.21 – The Basement – Columbus, OH
2.22 – Brillobox – Pittsburgh, PA
2.24 – Paradise Rock Club – Boston, MA
2.25 – Bowery Ballroom – NY, NY
2.26 – Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn, NY
2.27 – Rock and Roll Hotel – Washington, DC
2.28 – Johnny Brendas – Philadelphia, PA
3.02 – Cat’s Cradle – Carrboro, NC
3.03 – The Earl – ATL
3.04 – Bottlefree – Birmingham, AL
3.05 – Mercy Lounge – Nashville, TN
3.06 – Phoenix Hill Tavern – Louisville, KY
3.07 – The Metro – Chicago, IL