Xiu Xiu at Reggie's Rock Club: My 4th Xiu Xiu show
I’m scared of China Town at night. Why does Reggie’s have to be there? I mean, a guy wanted for the murder of his wife and step-son was arrested yesterday! A block away from Reggies! JESUS! He was like a Taiwanese gang-banger!
When we got there, a line of people was curling around inside. They eventually made the line go out the door and we had to wait outside in the cold. But we got in eventually.
The place reminded me a lot of an old place I use to got to in Indiana called Club Logos. The insides are gutted and the rafters and insulation is visible in the ceiling. There was an elevated level where you could go and have a seat in these big comfy chairs.
Anyway the first opening band was Bird Names. They reminded me a little bit of Animal Collective and the Beach Boys only they were off-key a lot of the time. They had some really great stuff. They played music instruments…I mean…they traded back and forth between their instruments…you know? Some times the bass player would play the drums or sometimes he’d play the guitar and so on.
Next was Thao with the Get Down Stay Down. Female vocalist and acoustic guitar player backed with drums, bass, and electric guitar. It was alright. Nothing spectacular…kinda got boring after the first couple of songs.
Finally, Xiu Xiu took the stage. Their goal for this tour is to use as much live percussion as possible. They have a strong rhythm section now. Ches Smith and Devin Hoff. Ches is unbelievable. He’s the fastest drummer I’ve ever seen. So amazing. Ches triggered some samples from a little machine with his sticks. It was like an extension to his drum kit. He had gongs and all kinds of stuff. Caralee used one of those key-board flutes and she had big synth this time and she had that pump-organ thing. Jamie had his assortment of gongs and cymbals. He had that snare and two guitars and that beautiful voice of his. They played a lot from Women as Lovers. They played “Suha” and that was probably the best of the evening. It sounded amazing with the live percussion. They also did “Apistat Commander” as their closing song. SO GOOD!
Xiu Xiu is the next Beatles.