I wrote you a concert review in my head...

...but then I forgot to type it.

The Dude moved Heaven and Earth to get tickets to the sold-out Tegan and Sara show that was Sunday night.

It was fantastic.

Australian band An Horse was good. We saw two songs, so I didn't get that much of an impression of their music. They could rock and Kate, the lead vocalist, had a nice voice. I get the impression that they're a nice up-and-coming band with a bright future on the Indie scene, such as it is.

Tegan and Sara put on a fabulous show. I'd searched online for set lists to get an idea of what they'd been playing recently, but darn if they didn't decided that Sunday was the day to start tweaking their setlist. The new setlist didn't deviate much from what they'd been playing, but they did present it in a slightly different order.

They played mostly music from their last two albums, The Con and So Jealous. I wish they'd played more tracks from the album before So Jealous, If it was you, but they didn't. And that was okay.

The set list seemed thoughtfully re-arranged and both Tegan and Sara got a decent amount of face time. I was shocked at how much better their voices seemed live than on their albums. It was amazing! Songs that I thought fell flat on the albums soared in real life.

The between-song banter, which Tegan and Sara pride themselves on, was the only part that I struggled with. It didn't seem scripted, which was nice, but there were times that the unscripted real-ness left me feeling...something. It seemed awkward at times, I think.

So, yeah...good times. :)

Mike Doughty at The Gargoyle--3/27 **revised**

I was reading the paper yesterday evening and saw that Mike Doughty was going to be playing later that evening at The Gargoyle later that evening. The show was a reasonable $15 and I was desperate to see Doughty in concert. So, in a very un-Mrs. Dudelike turn of events, I decided to go.

I'm glad I did.

The Gargoyle was an awesome, though poorly ventilated, venue. It was small enough to be intimate but big enough to give everyone room to push toward the stage. But, after dancing for an hour, my legs hurt from the tile floor.

Doughty seemed genuinely into the crowd, putting out an awesome vibe. He could've copped an attitude since The Gargoyle is a student-run venue on a University campus and there were maybe 200 people there. Instead, he seemed genuinely interested in putting on a killer show. He had an ease on stage and mastered the art of between-song banter. For me, this was the best part of the show and Doughty interacted with an energy and interest like I've never seen before. A close second might be Steve Poltz.

Doughty played songs from all of his solo albums, hitting his Haughty Melodic stuff pretty hard. But he also played songs from his Soul Coughing days. Highlights for me were the songs:

Soft serve
Busting up a Starbucks
I hear the bells
Ft. Hood
I wrote a song about your car
Tremendous brunettes

and a rousing version of Firetruck at the audience's insistence.

I was amused at how many people weren't singing along until he got to "I hear the bells," at which point they broke into song. I attributed this to the fact that a large portion of the audience was college-aged (which makes sense, as The Gargoyle is a student-run club and the show was free for Washington University students) and probably knew the song from it's appearance in a pivotal scene in the television show Veronica Mars. The age of the audience also led to me overhearing a college-aged girl say "I can't believe there are so many people here who are my parents' age."

Man...I felt old.

Opening for Doughty was funky fresh rock band The Panderers. A band on Doughty's label, Snack Bar, the Panderers were a mix of alt-country and neo-soul and reminded me a lot of Better Than Ezra, Steve Poltz, and Doughty himself. Catchy and fun, the music was fabulous and the drummer, bass player, and keyboardist returned to the stage to back Doughty. They only have an EPs-worth of material, so their set was short but each song was carefully crafted and performed with energy.

We were provided with a bizarre treat before The Panderers came on. The drummer, bass player, and keyboardist for both The Panderers and Mike Doughty's backing band came out dressed in funny hats and fake facial hair. They played wordless prog-ish music, including a song where the bassist read from a Euclidean Geometry book. The audience wasn't sure if the performance was a joke or for real, but the music was good, so I wasn't sure it mattered.

Overall, the evening was well worth the money I paid.

P.S.--Go read Alex's review of the show. He was nice enough to show me some link love so I want to return the favor. Also? He had a lot of the same views on the evening that I did.

Modest Mouse! Tonight!

The Dude is taking me to see Modest Mouse tonight.

I have been listening to their albums all week in anticipation of the show. He has too, I think.

I am constantly amazed at their lyrical dexterity. Nearly every time I hear one of their songs, I think 'wow...if I could write music, this is what I'd write.'

I've seen a few set lists from this past week and I've been pleasantly surprised at the mix of newer and older stuff they've been playing. The Dude will enjoy it because I know he likes their older, more bizarre stuff.

I'll report back tomorrow.

Good news for people who (don't) love bad news

It's been a rough week for The Dude and I.

Okay, now I'm going to envision The Dude as played by Yul Brenner.

Imagine how excited I was, then, that the The Dude emailed me to tell me that Modest Mouse is coming to the StL.

I am so overjoyed that I might cry.

Seriously.

Right back 'atcha!

The Spares came to town this weekend and played a show at Off Broadway. Y'all remember me telling you how great they are, right? And you all went to their website (www.thespares.net) or to iTunes and bought their newest album, right?

Anyway, I got a shoutout at the show. I was "the mysterious Mrs. Dude."

Their set was fantastic. They peppered their set with songs from both Beautiful and Treacherous Thing and Hand Me Down. And, I believe, they threw a little Johnny Cash in too. You know, for good measure. Because if there's one thing we all know, it's that you can't have too much Johnny Cash. The vocals, both Jodee's and Steve's, were spot on. And man...that mandolin? Wicked awesome.

It was fun to see them play in a setting other than Church. They have a great stage presence and playing a concert allowed them to interact with the crowd in a way that they can't in a church setting. And, as much as I love to hear them play hymns (and I do), playing in a smoky bar allows them to be freer with their vocals and their playing.

Today, The Spares played at Church. And, like last time, they were awesome. As an added bonus, they played two songs from Beautiful and Treacherous Thing.

I went up to Steve after they played and introduced myself as Mrs. Dude. We chatted for a few minutes and I was left with the feeling that not only are The Spares an amazingly talented band but that they are really nice, too.

So, I'm giving them a shoutout back! Hooray, The Spares!