Concert Review: Daze of Our Nights

I confess; I am not a true indie rock queen. I do not have short, spiky, bleached-blonde hair filled with little barrettes. I do not own Pavement's Slanted And Enchanted. I do not smoke cloves. I rather dislike tea. However, I wear thick black-rimmed glasses. I own a pair of Saucony shoes. I prefer vintage clothing to the mall. I own Sebadoh's Bubble And Scrape. On cassette. I knew about Belle and Sebastian during their If You're Feeling Sinister days. I have my cartilage pierced.

So to the disappointment of the indie rocker inside this reporter, there was nothing incredibly magical about Luna's show at the Somerville Theatre, in spite of the band being worshipped by fans and critics alike. Nothing that would male me suddenly want to go out and shore up my back catalog of Luna music.

I had high expectations for this show. Lead singer Dean Wareham has a reputation for musical brilliance, going back to his days fronting Galaxie 500. Moreover, Luna's compositions have a dreamy and yet biting edge that picks their way into your mind and refuses to leave. The band's latest album, The Days Of Our Nights, is a sublime piece of mellow and dreamy Velvet Underground-inspired pop. That fact, along with the other Luna songs that had filtered into my brain, suitably impressed and intrigued me enough that I desired to check out their live show.

The cheerful stage adorned with Christmas lights was promising. The theater was just about sold out, and crackled with anticipation. However, beyond the warm reception the band received on arriving onstage, the show's atmosphere was flat. While Luna performed rather good renditions of their studio recordings, highlights from The Days of Our Nights like "Dear Diary" and "4000 Days" seemed forced and perfunctory.

Indeed, the voice of lead singer (and guitarist) Dean Wareham, so soothing and haunting on recordings, was reduced to a nasally twang straining to hit the top notes. While this may have been part of the band's charm, I found it difficult to listen to and rather annoying. The sedentary nature of the crowd was also unnerving. While Luna is not a band to which one dances madly, sitting down and occasional nodding meant the excitement inherent in concerts was absent.

That's not to say there weren't some great moments. The musicality and lyrics of "Requiem For A Mouse" were superb and moving live, and near the end of the set the energy picked up somewhat, through such things as the trumpet flourishes on "Hello Little One," a definite lively plus. The side comments from the band on the pleasant-smelling popcorn (and the subsequent audience member who bestowed the band with a tub) and the intra-band bantering were also amusing. However, Luna's set was underwhelming, either because of the too-hip-to-be-wild atmosphere or sheer boredom.

Sadly, the crowd's overt apathy extended unfairly to the opening band, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. The band's Welsh nature and English pop sensibilities (crafted in the tradition of late-'60s Beatles or Beach Boys) were mostly lost on a polite but uninterested audience. Touring in support of their latest release Spanish Dance Troupe, the band played their heart out. Highlights included the raucous "Poodle Rockin'" and an acoustic interlude, complete with the soothing violin of Megan Childs. The band put on a good, energetic show, and it was sad to see the chilly reception for most of its set.