By Janet Athanasiou
On their most recent tour through the United States, Japandroids made a stop at the Jefferson Theater in Charlottesville, Virginia on October 28. Touring with Cloud Nothings, the rock duo played a loud, rocking set to a small, but enthusiastic crowd.
When I first heard Japandroids play I was surprised to find out they were a two-piece band. Power chords and banging drums always made me think there were a few more people on the stage! During live shows David Prowse’s drum kit is set up at the front of the stage so that he’s performing next to Brian King’s guitar; a wall of amps sit behind the two.
Opening the set with Near to the Wild Heart of Life, the band played energetically to a small crowd of about 500 people. While standing in line at the merch table I did hear someone ask how to pronounce Japandroids, but overall the crowd in attendance was an enthusiastic group, full of fist pumps and odd dance moves – the guy in front of me was doing his best Elaine Benes.
Since the stop in Charlottesville was part of the Near to the Wild Heart of Life tour, the band played a lot of songs from their latest album, from opening with the title track to including North East South West, Midnight to Morning, No Known Drink or Drug, True Love and a Free Life of Free Will, and I’m Sorry (For Not Finding You Sooner). Interspersed with the new material was Younger Us, a song Japandroids dedicated to the fans that were also in attendance when they played the Jefferson Theater a few years ago, Fire’s Highway and Wet Hair.
The closed out the set playing some favourites from Celebration Rock: Continuous Thunder, the Nights of Wine and Roses, and they finished up the night first by reminding everyone who they are, thanking the fans for coming, and giving a shout out to everyone who showed up in Halloween costume before playing their last song; a raucous rendition of The House that Heaven Built.
There was no encore, Japandroids ended the show after they announced the last song, but fans left the venue happy; having heard both the new songs and some of the older favourites. Japandroids are a loud, rocking duo and the left it all on the Charlottesville stage Saturday night.
NICE!
Good morning!
Hello
Thank you Janet. If you keep going like this we may have to make you a member of staff here (The pays just as bad but you do get to attend the staff holiday party, as soon as we have enough staff in the same place to hold one)
Hello hello!
Just need more Canadian bands to come through the DC area! 🙂
Good morning!
I just scanned the Japandroids review and a typo jumped out at me (a real one); “the” (#1) instead of “they”, in “Japandroids are a loud, rocking duo and the left it all on the Charlottesville stage Saturday night.”
There. First nit of the day!
Dang it! Sorry!
I blame the editor for not spotting the error sooner
janet, it’s a ‘real’ typo, the sneakiest type, with a legal, small, common word; not an its-it’s grammar sin! So, no worries!
it was a real typo
Just got out of a 3-hour focus group to talk about a software program we use. That was fun… if by fun you mean mind-numbing.
Janet: yeah. I think meetings are good when they are short — say 20 minutes — and when not everybody speaks — only those who really have something important to say.
And in that world, the sky is yellow all the time.
Benoit, I would like to attend meetings in that world!
Hi kids.
I am still on sick leave. I am bored and grumpy but have no energy to do anything.
Just thought I would spread that ray of sunshine.
@janet no encore hey … it seems to be a growing trend that I started to notice about six years ago with Mr Mangan’s shows.
sounds like a great gig thought. glad you were able to attend and share with us.
@Morgana, I hope you’re feeling better soon! The no encore thing was the first I’d been to, but have heard other musicians doing similar. At first I thought maybe it might be a curfew thing, but then I remembered we saw Guided by Voices at the same theatre last October and they played until 1am, so not a curfew!
anyone remember Jack Green? (Russ?)
His albums just popped up on eMusic. I went searching youtube and found this. From the Centre of the Arts in Regina.
Z99 simulcast the concert (with much better sound than this video) and I recorded it.
I think I still have it kicking around
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA56MnbO2hg
@janet the rib fractures are slowly getting better, the wonky blood is not really improving so further measures are forthcoming. For now I read, watch TV, delete photo’s and contacts off my device to see if I can resuscitate my dependable friend iPhone3, take short walks and do the odd chore. I should make some playlists with my time as well. I am doing my best to ignore the dust monsters and general state of disorder in my home; this is hard for me.
@krib oh, the fashion and hair! He kind of looks like Scott Baio. I did not listen back in his day but it looks like he is probably comfortably retired by now given the audience size and number of songs on the world wide web. Did you see him live once upon a time or just recorded shows?
So, who is enjoying half price Halloween candy day?
If I buy some I’ll eat it. So…
Great show review Janet! Thanks so much for dong these. 😀