Unwrapping Metronomy, Justice and CSS live

Where was I on December 5th? Not at Brixton Academy watching Fist Fite do their damage. No - I was in Glasgow. I left getting on the list for CSS at the Carling Academy until last minute, holding out hope Fist Fite would add me to their guestlist, but when word didn't come - ever - not even day of, I knew I was being granted my Christmas Present early in the form of CSS' holiday tour opened by none other than Metronomy. My first time seeing the man whose music I idolize! Knowing I'd be spending the majority of my day away on the roads of Ardlui therefore being unable to harass publicists during business hours, the night before I set about trying to get on every guestlist possible, not giving a shit if my requests overlapped as there was no way I was missing my Joseph Mount. I hit up CSS' American publicist, I hit up their UK national press officer, I hit up their UK regional publicist, I hit up Justice's US publicist, I hit up Metronomy's UK publicist. When I got back from being hailed on at the north most point of Loch Lomond I got onto my email and what did I find in my inbox? Nothing.
Eventually I coerced Sub Pop into contacting the CSS tour manager, just as an email surfaced about the Justice glist. And I got in - whoo-who! Since I was leaving for London the next day at the behest of Meg, I packed, caught a cab to the bus station, stored my luggage and then caught a cab to the venue. The cab driver had never heard of CSS, let alone "a band of Brazilians" - a quick descriptor I threw out. I arrived at the venue just as Metronomy hit the stage, having been schooled in the many inventions Scots have contributed to the world during the ride over - apparently the bicycle according to the proud cabbie and weaseled my way out of the one pound glist charity donation since I was there "for work purposes" - not to enjoy myself at all - at all hahahahahahaha

I expected to hear the calls of "It's Metronomy. It's Metronomy. It's Metronomy" as I made my way through the venue such as the live at Soldout MP3 begins, but those vocals never surfaced on my radar.

The trio - Joseph Mount and his backing band the Food Groups were outfitted in the predictable press on, press-off lights that they normally are - that E*Rock has never heard of! hahahaha Over at his place making music before I left, I hit him up with some Metronomy tracks. It baffled me that he'd never heard of him before - especially given the similarities between E*Rock's right-hand (at times) man Marius aka Copy - Metronomy and Copy share a lot of musical similarities - as I've noted before. But yeah - I was even more astounded when E*Rock had never before seen those lights. "Haven't you seen infomercials for them?" "Haven't you ever been to Walgreens?" A no to both.

The only track that boomed out of the speakers that night from Metronomy's You Could Easily Have Me EP was title track "You Could Easily Have Me." Other than that the music of the evening was heavily dependent on Joe's vocals - all in a direction similar to "Radio Ladio", all catchy and all superior to a lot of current pop. Defining the desire to dance to music. Forget Joe as my husband - I'll take all three!

They closed with current single "Radio Ladio" - and hit some synchronized poses at the end. For those there to take it in, they seemed heavily impressed with the trio on stage that many didn't appear to have heard of before. I think I spied a CSS member ie Luiza briefly in the photopit snapping away during a few songs. I quickly made my way out of it to dance, dance, dance with wild abandon.

Next was Justice. Do we need to even go into there set? It was predictably phenomenal and I was again awash with the desire to move to France and simply spend my life partying it up every night. What is it with French DJs that make me want to buck real life?

After playing a Klaxons track, they made their way into some song that made everyone go INSANE. Something about friends. I think. hahahahahahaha

I had too much stuff with me to go totally crazy, plus I wanted to spend some time taking photos and vowed to myself next time I took in some Justice I would be spending the time losing my mind.

Oh CSS and your parade of unknown Christmas costumes. Seriously - what were they? Lovefoxxx looked like half sequined greenbean, half cloud. The sextet entered the stage dressed as cloth presents, quickly unwrapped themselves to reveal further questions and kicked into it.

Four songs in Lovefoxx handed an apple to photog Jon to pass as a present to an audience member which he graciously did. A dancer soon appeared onstage at her introduction - dressed in a Christmas tree dress and shimmying it away.

Then it was time for some stripping - down to a different cat-suit- this one magenta and adorned with three naughty green hand-prints - two across the chest and one suggestively placed on the behind. Lovefoxxx? Saucy minx more like it hahahaha. SO. LAME. hahahahaha

They introduced "Alcohol" as their love song and I surprisingly didn't cringe upon them kicking into "Music is My Hot Hot Sex" now that it plays endlessly as an i-pod commercial and all. God has it been nice to be TV free for the past month! "Paris Hilton" made an appearance and I was gunning - just gunning for them to churn out their Grizzly Bear cover, but alas they did not.

The last song of their regular set they introduced as their "peace song." Once they disappeared off stage I left to make my way down to London believing I was just hours away from Simian Mobile Disco. I heard later that CSS encored with "Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above." Was there any other set closer? Could there have been? Of course not.

"Gold Mine Gutted" (Bright Eyes Remix) Metronomy MP3

Yo - it pays to be Metronomy's myspace friend. PAYS. He used to release unsused remix MP3s all the time through it.

"NYEXCUSE" Justice MP3 (originally by Soulwax and featuring some Nancy Whang vocals)

"Knife" (Grizzly Bear cover) CSS MP3

Comments

[meg]

hahaha yes!

i am so jealous you got to go to that x-mas show! so rad!
i love the photos! LOVE!

[Laura]

That Bright Eyes remix is BIZARRE! I like it, though.