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Tour Dates
10/19/10 Charlotte, NC @ Visulite Theatre (16+)*
10/20/10 Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse (All Ages)* 10/22/10 Dallas, TX @ Granada Theatre (14+)* 10/23/10 Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa (All Ages)* 10/24/10 Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live (All Ages)* 10/25/10 New Orleans, LA @ Republic (18+)* 10/26/10 St. Louis, MO @ Firebird (All Ages)* 10/27/10 Iowa City, IA @ The Blue Moose (All Ages)* 11/14/10 Constellations, Leeds Univesity (w/ Broken Social Scene, Les Savy Fav, Four Tet, Local Natives) * support from Johnny Foreigner Read More Let me get this straight: this is a Welsh band with a Spanish name. What's even stranger is that the name translate to The Farmers.
Los Campesinos! have a new four-track EP called All's Well That Ends and features reworked version of songs from their Romance is Boring album.
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Plenty has changed for Los Campesinos! since 2007, when they gleefully proclaimed that the “international tweexcore underground saved us all.” They’re a little more hardcore, but there’s still enough twee in their systems to include a few “bah bah bahs” into their choruses. Not to mention the recent lineup changes, with Gareth’s sister, Kim, replacing Aleks on vocals and keyboard, and long-time drummer, Ollie, being replaced by newcomer Jason. They’ve also thrown in a couple of new instruments into the mix (flute, trumpet) and had a brush with corporate fame by having a song featured in a Budweiser commercial. But despite these change, they remain as infectious –and glockenspiel-heavy—as ever.
When they descended upon Brooklyn, the band had all the frenzied enthusiasm from their debut album, Hold On Now, Youngster…, but with the added bite of their last two albums and EP as well. The setlist was heavy on the latter, as songs like “There are Listed Buildings” and “Romance is Boring” induced brief attempts at crowdsurfing. There were plenty of moments of harsh screaming from lead singer, Gareth, particularly on “Miserabilia,” the centerpiece of their second album, We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed. It wasn’t the kind of thing typically seen at an indie pop show, but then again, LC! Have proven that they’re not as cute as their hand-drawn album covers may have once suggested.
Still, the show’s climax (“You! Me! Dancing!” of course) re-affirmed the purpose of the exclamation point at the end of the band’s name. They definitely still have the catchiness gene. As they played older songs like “We Are All Accelerated Readers” and “My Year In Lists,” the audience adapted and switched from moshing to head-bopping. They got to do a little bit of both with the band’s encore rendition of “Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks,” as Gareth plunged into the audience (and barely escaped). Though “The International Tweexcore Underground” was woefully absent from the setlist that night, its message still held true: You can be both twee and hardcore – even if your drummer is wearing a Blink-182 shirt.
When they descended upon Brooklyn, the band had all the frenzied enthusiasm from their debut album, Hold On Now, Youngster…, but with the added bite of their last two albums and EP as well. The setlist was heavy on the latter, as songs like “There are Listed Buildings” and “Romance is Boring” induced brief attempts at crowdsurfing. There were plenty of moments of harsh screaming from lead singer, Gareth, particularly on “Miserabilia,” the centerpiece of their second album, We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed. It wasn’t the kind of thing typically seen at an indie pop show, but then again, LC! Have proven that they’re not as cute as their hand-drawn album covers may have once suggested.
Still, the show’s climax (“You! Me! Dancing!” of course) re-affirmed the purpose of the exclamation point at the end of the band’s name. They definitely still have the catchiness gene. As they played older songs like “We Are All Accelerated Readers” and “My Year In Lists,” the audience adapted and switched from moshing to head-bopping. They got to do a little bit of both with the band’s encore rendition of “Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks,” as Gareth plunged into the audience (and barely escaped). Though “The International Tweexcore Underground” was woefully absent from the setlist that night, its message still held true: You can be both twee and hardcore – even if your drummer is wearing a Blink-182 shirt.
 ♥ Los Campesinos! at Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn (10/16/10) |
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