revenge of the band nerds

What's that? You play the baritone sax in the marching band and think you can never be cool? Well, here's what you do - get a couple of friends: one drummer and one fellow multi-instrumentalist (preferably also a computer geek), and form a band. Name said band after a quasi-obscure Muppets reference (click that link, seriously), and there you go. Oh, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to also write great songs, have some seriously charismatic stage presence, and receive Pitchfork reviews of your first three albums = 8.7, 7.9 and 8.5, respectively. Yeah, couldn't hurt.

So I kind of crapped out on the Maria Taylor show at the Hi-Dive last night. It was flippin' cold and I was tired, and... well, I have no good excuse really. Which is not to say that it wasn't flippin' cold (and snowing!) tonight when I headed for the Hi-Dive and Menomena. But then again, Menomena has released an album this year that will almost certainly land in my top 20, and while Maria Taylor's new one (Lynn Teeter Flower) is nice, it's not nearly of the same caliber of Menomena's Friend And Foe.

As per usual, I missed the first band and got to the Hi-Dive about 10 minutes before Constellations took the stage. Upon arriving (and even moreso when I left at the end of the show) I was struck by the feeling that I was extraordinarily lucky this show didn't sell out (I neglected to take advantage of early sales...). The place was pretty packed. So I got me a PBR and made my way toward the front of the stage, where oddly there was plenty of room.

Constellations were good. Danceable, engaging, they made the time pass. Of course, after Menomena's set, it's a bit difficult to even recall the opener. Oh yeah, they were that good. I'd like to say that I'm at a loss for words about how fabulous the show was, but I'm really never at a loss for words. Menomena were phenomenal (hee hee); on top of what was a great show anyway, the fans were... well... just so fucking nice. If I could carry tonight's Menomena crowd with me to every show I ever attend, I'd be in heaven. I had a really sweet spot in the second row, between stage left and center. And still the guy in front of me asked me mid-show if I wanted to stand in front of him. I was floored, but as I was really happy with my view, I turned him down. The only thing that could have been mildly annoying were the repeated shouts for Justin to "take his pants off". Late in the set the woman right next to me mixed things up and yelled for him to take his shirt off. Without missing a beat, he retorted with "you take YOUR shirt off!". Touche. Awesome.

I was bummed to learn that this was Menomena's third time playing Denver... I only heard about them this year with their release of Friend And Foe. Though I'm not the only one it would seem - Justin made a point of mentioning that tonight wasn't at all like their previous visits and that they played to about a dozen people at Larimer Lounge last year.. Apparently I'm not the only Pitchfork whore in town... :)

Here's the set:

The Pelican
Weird
Wet And Rusting
Twenty Cell Revolt
Muscle'n Flo
Strongest Man In The World
My My
Boyscout'n
Cough Coughing
The Late Great Libido
Ghostship
Evil Bee
Rotten Hell
"this officially marks the most awkward "encore" performance in history"
Trigga Hiccups
The Monkey's Back

It's true, they played an encore. As encore as it can get at the Hi-Dive anyway (the only escape from the stage is directly into the audience). Tonight marks the first time EVER that I've seen someone play an encore at this club. Maybe because it's Saturday, maybe because the show was 21+, maybe because tomorrow (errrr, today I guess) is Easter and Jesus would have wanted Menomena to play an encore... Whatever the reason, it was really really great to get a couple extra songs out of these guys.