Los Campesinos at Bimbo's 365

All photos by me. Thank you.

If you have listened to Los Campesinos, you'll know it is incredibly impossible to not at least tap your foot or bob your head to their music. This fact manifested itself entirely at the band's show at Bimbo's last night. The entire audience, whether there just for a night out or to see a band they absolutely adored, was a perpetual body of people bouncing to the beat. Even people sitting at the tables, enjoying a nice dinner or after dinner aperitif, couldn't help but move their head in time to the catchy poppy and bouncy music that is Los Campesinos.

The opening band of the night, Parenthetical Girls, is a group you might just have to check out. Intriguing the entire audience as the lead singer, Zac Pennington, descended from the stage and proceeded to sing the whole first song from the floor of the venue, illustrates exactly what the Parenthetical Girls seem to do best: intrigue. While most of the rest of the band stayed highly platonic during the set, Pennington was lively and awake. This sharp contrast added an element of creepiness but also, you guessed it, intrigue.

Instrumentations using glockenspiel and loud guitar chords with smashing drums evokes an almost death-march like tune, yet with so much energy and feeling you'd swear the person for which the march is for is springing back to life. Their songs are definitley full of emotion and you can feel it in the way they all play, but perhaps the most in the vocals of Pennington.

Their music is compared to the likes of Casiotone For The Painfully Alone and Xiu Xiu, but I would akin it more to something like a minimalist Animal Collective slowed down or Casiotone with tons of caffeine and helium. Depends on what song they are playing. While I spent most of the set debating whether I liked them or not, I decided at the end that I had thoroughly enjoyed their set. You may be confused as to what you think at first, but I believe Parenthetical Girls will capture you like they did me. Definitley give them a holla. Sidenote: Pennington asked us midway through if we have our name on Google Alerts...no one really responded, but I guessed this means he does, so hey man, I'm tagging your name, in case you read this.

Los Campesinos took the stage with stride. While Bimbo's was full, it was not crowded, and I learned the show had not sold out. So despite all the hype surrounding this little indie pop group, you'll be happy to know they remain easily acessible and down to earth.

Los Campesinos played all the favorites, from "You! Me! Dancing!" to "We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives". If there was a song someone wanted to hear, they played it. It's impressive how fully LC can play their songs live. On the record, you might think at some points that one particular song is pratically inachievable live, but no. LC played them all and they sounded just as good, if not better, live. Their handling on their instruments and the domain they hold over their sound shows how rounded they are in their music, and how well they know themselves. LC also covered a Pavement song, rendering it their own but also paying hommage to the original in a wonderful way.

Their stage presence is nothing to be trifled with. With seven people commanding the band, they fill up the stage in a big way and are ever present in each and every instrument, from glockenspiel to guitar to violin to random noise makers. The singer Gareth's incredibly energetic stage presence of running around, throwing his arms and jumping is contrasted to the second singer Aleks' timidness and quiet demeanor; there is a contrast onstage that makes this band unique. Yet all members are obviously invested in their art.

LC haven't lost any personal touch either. They showed us they can make the "SF" symbol with their hand, and used to to apologize for the fact that they think "Frisco" sounds good (a sidenote: it definitley does not). Gareth also explained that they have been rating their audiences. "You're better than Sacramento!" he said. Unfortuanetly, we are only in second place behind Eugene, Oregon. "At least you beat LA!" Gareth exclaimed. True that.

After leaving the stage, LC came on for one more song and then they were gone, almost as quickly as they had taken the stage. I guess the only thing that would show their grown popularity would be that at their GAMH show in November last year, they came out right away after it was over, while at this show there was no sign of them. Their bus has also grown in size immenseley.

Still this is not a problem, as long as LC manages to keep true to their roots, and stay in touch with who loves them. As proven last night, they have.

Freebies!
Los Campesinos: Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks
Los Campesinos: Drop It Doe Eyes
Parenthetical Girls: The Weight She Fell Under