Concert Review: The 15th Annual 89X Birthday Bash, featuring Yeah Yeah Yeahs, AFI, et. al. - Page 4

While I snapped away in the photo pit, Laura wrote quickly and furiously into her reporter's notebook, obviously inspired by the performance. Enclosed, dear reader, is a mini-review which she roughly scribbled between masses of squealing, energetic 14-year-old girls:

Love Arcade, the up-and-coming band out of the Detroit Area, was our next stop. The five performers cemented a youthful stance to the opening acts, and a cacaphony of young girls swarmed the Fox Theatre awaiting their performance. I was shocked at the energy the local band brought to the stage. No wonder these girls were into them - I was into them. They were a visual cornucopia of color: the bass player wore a plaid blazer, the lead guitarist had an amazing baby blue glitter guitar that matched his aqua Chuck Taylors perfectly, and the lead singer, who magically appeared right before the vocals of the first song, was a sight all in white, and even wore lustrous angel wings for a portion of the set. The music was poppy and sugary, but that was easy to overlook with their amazing stage presence and charismatic, laid back style. Some of the band's moves were even synchronized (which gets me every time).

The only drawback I had from the performance was that I felt like they were geared toward a much younger audience; which is a smart move for a large fanbase, but opening with lyrics like "Play with me, just like a toy" is a little too juvenile, even for the youngsters. Everyone in Love Arcade was excited to be performing, they enjoyed it and the audience could tell, which is always a good thing. I doubt this show was just a gig for them, but if it was, we didn't catch on and that's how a performance should be - that's more than I could say about Say Anything. The guys - frontman Christian, bassist Seth, drummer Dorman, guitarist Thomas and keyboardist Nate - worked well together, and I'll be surprised if I'm not seeing 15-year-old girls draped in Love Arcade-branded accessories in the next year or so. The set itself gave us a much-needed energy boost, not to mention hope after Say Anything dampered our day.

A major downside of the show, though, was that it left Laura and I much more intimidated by the near-future of a Love Arcade interview. Laura, the more experienced journalist, was infinitely blown away by their stage presence and began to grow more and more excited at the idea of meeting them, although her intimidation was beginning to slowly grow. And me? Because this was my first interview ever, my stomach began to curl smaller and smaller as if it had become a black hole. It wasn't like I was expecting a Lou Reed reception, but still. Things became even more nerve-wracking when we attempted to find a place where we could actually hear what the band had to say. We would have used the bottom lounge outside of the woman's bathroom at the Fox Theatre, but a female security guard was set up to bar entry to all males. As Laura and I sat on one of the vast velvet couches, we overheard several ridiculous exchanges which led to our knowing, come hell or high water or a mysterious and hidden vagina which did not match the outsides of Love Arcade, they were not going to be allowed in. And while eventually the band found a place for us to talk, their choice of venue - backstage - heightened the nerves of both of us. Still, despite all of the gloom of my interview perceptions, it really went off well. I guess. [Interview forthcoming. -Ed.]

Article Author: Modern Pea Pod

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