Dance-pop is really one of those things you can’t go wrong with. You are guaranteed a shaking ass or twelve in every city on your tour as long as you stick with the housy beats and keep the wailing synth warm. I will, however, grant credit to whoever is doing it well. It takes skill to successfully recreate an album like ‘You Have No Idea What You’re Getting Yourself Into‘ with live instruments. The record is shrill and upbeat, with drum-machine precision and carefully implemented thrash factor, which I was sure was the work of a producer. For a live show, I was expecting a rough translation at best. However, the guys from Does It Offend You Yeah? (DIOYY?) delivered on point, all the while laughing, bouncing around on stage and having a blast.

The show opened with a high-energy instrumental, and album opener, ‘Battle Royale (Album Version)‘. Watching the guys tap out the simplistic sequences on their keyboards, pound away four-to-the-floor beats, and pluck out distorted bass lines with such zeal made me move before I realized it, the beer in my full pint glass teetering recklessly. My British buddy Joe, swaying next to me, was overjoyed to hear what he feels is a refreshing revival of brit-pop. We laughed and cheers-ed and high-fived and bobbed our heads without noticing the uber-hip of Philly’s Fishtown/Northern Liberties neighborhood standing rigidly, looking around occasionally, and dressed to the nines in carefully selected thrift shop finds.

The band began to show frustration. They challenged the crowd, as an unfit parent would his meekest child. “We thought Philadelphia knew how to party” The immediate evidence proved them to be misinformed. On neither of the two levels facing the stage in Johnny Brenda’s, one of my favorite venues in Philly, were more than two people dancing next to each other. They stood there, arms folded; super-cool males and females standing around looking like band girlfriends.

We had no intention of letting the atmosphere at crowd-level interfere with our good time. It was Thursday night, dammit, and the music was sweet. Every track they belted out was familiarly from their debut album. There was a song that suspiciously sounded like a Devo cover, something Joe and I argued about for at least five minutes. We did, however, agree that a lot of DIOYY?’s songs kind of sound the same. It is indeed a style, and not one that grates on the ears after an extended showcasing by any means, but an undeniable pattern existed and there was nothing revolutionary being played. So what? It was a fun show, and it was tight.

The set ended, and the self-roadied band filed off the stage, but not before I snuck in for a quick interview. I had spoken with guitarist/vocalist Morgan Quaintance at the bar before they went on, and he was totally cool on that. We rolled in, drunk and mildly danced out, to shoot the breeze with the band for a moment.

“How did you like your set?” I asked, drawing a couple of groans from the guys, who didn’t seem thrilled with their performance. They were clearly more pleased with their set, however, than with their reception. Philadelphia was, according to them, one of the most docile crowds they had played for on this tour.

I apologized for how wack everyone there was, and explained that hipsters can be kind of snooty as an audience. I know this as I perform hip hop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn; mod central. They didn’t seem to understand the term I was using, and as I began to explain, Joe spilled a full beer all over drummer Rob Bloomfield’s clean laundry. Shattered the glass and everything. The band didn’t seem too upset, but sort of broke off into an awkward chuckle and told Joe not to worry about it. I laughed my ass off.

“You can’t take this prick anywhere!” I said. I know Joe and he will always spill a beer all over the place at the worst time. It was priceless. The guys told us how exhausted they were from touring and that they were doubling up on shows the next night in New York. We wished them a better time than they had had in Philly and exited the green room. It was another great show in Philly, and yet another confirming the lack of energy in crowds these days. I wish everyone would just swallow their pride and dance.

Does It Offend You Yeah? - “Let’s Make Out”

Joy Daniels

Last week on Wednesday (March 26) I had a particularly shitty day at work. Nothing truly horrific happened, it was just packed with menial tasks and forced me to question my career path in life.

Then I went to the invite-only launch party for Cafe 939, the new coffee shop/music venue for Berklee School of Music and was greeted by the two of the most beautiful words in the English language: “Open bar.”

Oh right, there was music there too, as you can tell from the video above and below.

Julia Easterlin

The cafe is meant to teach Berklee students about what it takes to run a music club. The students handle the booking (national and student acts), the box office and the food. It’s also good that the musicians get used to the feel and atmosphere of a coffee shop, since there’s where the majority of musicians start out.

The truth is, Berklee holds some of the best young musicians in the country. Joy Daniels (above video) ended the night with an energetic performance (she even covered “What’s going on.”)

And if you want to feel completely untalented, check out Julia Easterlin performing with the sounds she makes on stage and loops them throughout the performance. She’s 18. When I was 18 I could barely get through a Nine Inch Nails album without running into a wall.

Berklee students are pretty impressive and it’s almost scary how talented these kids are. If you want a taste of what’s to come, check out The Sounds of Berklee podcast.

We’re hoping to get something going with Cafe 939…because I’m a glutton for seeing how much I suck as a musician.

A little over a year and a half ago, my girlfriend convinced me to go see Belle and Sebastian at the Wiltern. It didn’t take too much convincing. She’d made me a really good Belle and Sebastian mix a few months earlier and she offered to pay for my ticket. I was sold.

Sadly, the concert was sub-par. It wasn’t awful, but the live experience, just wasn’t a catalyst for any of the various emotions I hope to experience at a show. I wasn’t excited, energized, inspired, astounded, educated, or even amused. I didn’t gain a deeper appreciation for the band, wasn’t left wanting more, wasn’t even happy when they played an encore. I wrote Belle and Sebastian off as one of those very talented bands, that just sounds better on my car stereo then live in person.

Naturally, when my girlfriend asked me if I wanted to see them again a month later, I declined. They were playing at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, but never having been to the Bowl or seen the Phil, those weren’t really selling points. She went without me and came back RAVING about the show. Apparently, all the verbs that I crave at a live show, the ones that were so readily absent at the Wiltern, were there in spades with the addition of one of the nation’s best orchestras. I kicked myself and vowed to catch the next rock band who teamed with The Phil, regardless of who they were. That band happened to be The Decemberists.

It was my first show at the Bowl and an experience I’ll never forget. I staggered up from the Hollywood and Highland parking structure (the cheapest and easiest place to park if you don’t mind walking a bit), past a sea of camera toting tourists hoping to be “discovered” as they took posed photos on Cuba Gooding Jr.’s urine soaked star on the Walk of Fame. I walked past fleabag hotels and $20 parking lots. Eventually, the tourists and cars and smog subsided, and as I entered the Bowl, I was surrounded by honest-to-god trees. The Bowl was an oasis of solitude in a desert of tourists and materialism. It’s also an amphitheater that seats 40,000 plus, one that lets you bring in picnic dinners and bottles of wine without any hassle.

And so we sat, eating our fancy cheeses and drinking our wine, and happily enjoying an average performance by Band of Horses and a truly inspired one from Andrew Bird. The latter was so good, I was convinced The Decemberists would have a tough time following. I was wrong.

They opened with, “The Crane Wife, Parts 1 and 2,” and when the Phil’s string section all hit one of the opening chords in unison and the big bassy French horn kicked in, I started laughing hysterically. I suddenly found myself experiencing all of the aforementioned verbs, all at once, in unison, coupled with another wonderful emotion: surprise.

It was surprising just how tight the band and orchestra were together, how full and layered a sound they could create. The energy sixty plus musicians could create on stage, coupled with the enthusiasm of the 40,000 or so in attendance, was a unique live musical experience for me. I’ve seen orchestras and been part of massive rock band audiences, but never at the same time. It’s a special combination.

So a few weeks later when Bright Eyes teamed up with the LA Phil, of course I was going to be there. And once again, I was anything but disappointed. That thick, complex, vibrant sound, tickled my ears and left me in hysterics a few more times. Even with lofty expectations and a similar experience recently under my belt, the sound constantly delighted and surprised me.

The discovery of the Hollywood Bowl and the LA Philharmonic (especially when teamed with a kick-ass rock band) was probably my greatest musical discovery of 2007—a year in which I was exposed to dozens of new bands and a handful of new genres. I consider myself a connoisseur of fine live music, one who’s not easily impressed. That being said, I have no trouble laying down a prediction for 2008: any band teamed with the LA Phil at the Hollywood Bowl will certainly evoke all the wonderful verbs that good life music should.