Live Review: Junior Boys

April 17th, 2007

Record Bar

Kansas City, MO





(This isn't so much a live review, its more of a random musing on a particular show. Maybe I should start taking notes. Then again, I had too much fun dancing to take any...)

Going into the venue, I was not sure about what to expect. The band's latest album, So This is Goodbye, is the sort of dance album that doesn't always make you dance. There are no falsettos, DJ scratches, cowbells and whistles, or any other tricks to get your booty shaking mindlessly. To dance to the Junior Boys, you really have to want to dance, which is what I think makes them so good in the first place. You can put the album on at a party and dance to it all night if you want to, or you can listen to it at the afterparty while you chill out. It works well for either setting. For me, I usually listen at home, alone, and therefore I'm more apt to chill. However, seeing the band in concert is a completely different ball game.

At this show, their second stop at the Record Bar while supporting So This Is Goodbye - the first being a measley six months ago - I found it impossible not to dance as the band effortlessly breezed through most of the new album, a few older songs, and even a couple that my friends and I were hard pressed to recognize. Girlfriend and I steamed up the Record Bar's windows during such highlights as "Like a Child", "The Equalizer", and "In the Morning". However, the best song of the night may have been the last one, which is unfortunately not one that I recognized. Its probably from the first record, an album I admittedly don't like as much as the new one, but this song was fucking unreal. What struck me about this song in particular was the guitars, the sound of which would have been right at home on, say, Turn on the Bright Lights by Interpol. The song was about 8 minutes of sultry, dance floor bliss, though honestly the entire show could be classified as such.

I have to admit, the show really impressed me. I was afraid that with so many samples and a singer with a fairly unaffecting voice (sorry to offend any diehards), the concert could have been just as good if it were literally phoned in. I was wrong. In concert the band has a bit of a swagger that I have yet to pick up on just from repeated listens at home. Plus, having a hot date to dance with always makes the night better. Seriously fellas, take your girl to a Junior Boys show, and thank me in the morning.