M83 Live

Sunday night, I had the privilege of seeing M83 in concert! I traveled to Omaha and walked around the Old Market during the early evening, which proved to be cold and uneventful, seeing as how everything there (save for a few restaurants and bars) closes around 6.

The show took place at the Slowdown, a newer bar and concert joint north of the Old Market, near the Qwest Center. I'm fond of the Slowdown, which has a reasonable beer selection and has proven to be a solid if undersized venue for a concert. It's not uncomfortably small, but latecomers will be lucky to have a decent view of the stage.

Anyway, the opening act was some boy, probably 20-22, named Landon. Landon played guitar and sang, and while he did neither poorly, I couldn't say I enjoyed his set much. He was, frankly, just a little too pathetic for me, between apologizing for potential screwups in a song or trying weakly to rail against his hecklers. I wanted to feel badly for him, but I think he felt badly enough about himself for everyone there.

Thankfully, Landon didn't stay on stage too long, and soon gave way to M83. I really didn't know what to expect, with M83 being something of an electronic post-rock group, but I enjoyed the show a great deal. The music was mostly live, though a dusty black Macbook was present for some recordings and effects. Thankfully, Anthony Gonzalez and company are a pretty decent band.

M83 seems to be embracing the 80's / New Wave Redux part of their image, from the Breakfast Club-looking posters to the feathered-hair-and-bandanna-on-the-neck headshot adorning the backdrop of the stage. It seems as though the crowd was buying this, to some extent; most of the people there looked like average concertgoers, but there were a few younger people who only danced to the more recent (i.e. 80's-influenced) M83 songs. These people also had tragically bad hair and fashion choices.

Aside:
I am not sure what I think of M83's current 80's-influenced direction; I want to like it, but it seems just a little too nostalgic, and I think that Anthony Gonzalez is too talented and creative to need such a gimmick. I suppose that if it results in a decent band gaining exposure and fans, I can't begrudge them success at such a price, but I hope that the success is a byproduct of the direction and not the reason for it.

Anyway, M83 did play songs from their entire catalog; I don't know that I have a favorite M83 song, but it was great to hear 'Moon Child' and 'Gone'. The show was surprisingly brief - not a complete surprise, given the venue and the fact that it was a Sunday - but I didn't feel cheated out of a concert. Being at a show without any vocals was a little unusual, but M83's uplifting style helped to keep the crowd lively.

All things considered, it was a good show! I should have taken earplugs, but I'm glad I went, and the chance to visit my favorite haunts in the Old Market was a bonus.

In Other News:
I picked up some fun beers in Omaha! How long will they last? Who knows.

I absolutely love having a record player again. I do need something I can store records in, but this is a small part of the equation compared to actually being able to listen to them.