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Although EVAN DANDO was technically the headliner, as he played after THE DEARS, he only played a short, 10-minute set of four songs. Nevertheless, it was fantastic. Armed with just a banged-up acoustic guitar sporting an ANGRY SAMOANS sticker, he launched into “The Outdoor Type”, a fantastic song from 1996’s Car Button Cloth, the last LEMONHEADS album prior to the new, self-titled release on Vagrant Records. He played two other older songs as well as the new single “Got No Backbone” (which sounded great solo despite being stripped of the guitar stylings of guest J MASCIS).
Although they were technically the openers, The Dears were the real stars of this special, WXPN-sponsored, free lunch-time show that was broadcast live on the station. They played a roughly 30-minute set consisting entirely of songs from their fantastic new album Gang of Losers. It was great to hear songs like the new single “Ticket to Immortality,” “You and I Are a Gang of Losers” (which is still much better live) and “Whites Only Party” live. Some of these songs were more reminscent of RADIOHEAD circa The Bends in a live setting than they are in their recorded versions.
This was my first time hearing most of these songs live, though “You and I Are a Gang of Losers” has been a highlight of their live set since early last year when they started playing it. If there’s any justice, it should be a huge hit. They seemed to be more intense and focused than the last couple of times I’ve seen them, and since this was one of only three scheduled appearances in the U.S. this year, I’m hoping that they come back here next year.
All of the photos above were taken by Cynthia Wilson and used with permission. You can visit her site here and see the rest of her pictures of the show here and here.
