Spring Break?

I don�t think so. Managed to catch Interpol in St. Petersburg and the French Kicks with Calla in Tampa. Rather challenging for one�s first visit to central Florida. Thanks, Mapquest, for being more or less right. Thanks, also, bands, hosts, impressed drivers, and weather whims. A true group effort, which I can only claim conduit credit for, as evinced by my tentative take on it all.

Interpol performed at Jannus Landing Courtyard, March 19, supported by Q and Not U, who managed to alternate good grooves with puerile, bratty punctuation (usually a compliment, merely neutral this time). To be fair, it was my first exposure, and I was settling in from travel. Had I been less overstimulated, I may have liked them more; as it was, they exhibited promise, and undeniable skill. The venue was a winner, surrounded by an inexplicable hotel (SRO?) with balconies on every floor, but open to the night sky, allowing for cigs to go with the giant cups of draft. Obviously, they have a different idea of sold-out than my regular halls, as one could move fairly freely outside the main cluster.

The band was polished and smooth, perhaps overly. I�d guessed �Next Exit� and �Slow Hands� to be the openers, and was gratified, even though that got rid of my favorite from Antics immediately. They then droned. There were highlights, but few (my problem; the crowd of suited and un-coiffed dandies and sweatshirted jocks were clearly absorbed, if not in a transcendent state). Three songs later, Mr. Banks announced �This is our sad song,� and led into �Stella��. Brief groan, another tune, and on to peak 1, �Not Even Jail�, �Evil� and �NYC�. The latter was the first to really deviate sonically from the recorded version, even if it was mostly a great crevaceous echo added.

�Take You on a Cruise� was the right follow-up, as it accelerated the whole affair with the most upbeat, if not most rocking, song of the set. A few more songs, a medley ending with part of �Obstacle 1�, and we got to peak 2 (and the end), �Length of Love�, �Roland� and �Say Hello to the Angels�, if my notations are correct. I can�t be certain, as there was and is a fair amount of topical overlap, mood seep and tempo stagnancy to the material. There�s some evolution though; they seem to have worked on some on the lyrics, as songs sounded much like the recordings, but a full combing of the albums didn�t come up with certain vocal phrases. As a performance, it was well executed; as an exhibition of passion, it sounded a bit thin.

The Tampa concert, March 22, was a whole other thing. The Orpheum, in Ybor City, holds about 200 people, max. It�s a bar with a stage, and a good one, too. Candy Bars, opening, were a bit spiky but softened by the recent addition of a sweet and enthusiastic young lady on cello, providing a sophisticated emo start, if that�s not an oxymoron. It�s a stretch, tracking them down online, to think they�re the same band. The recordings are much airier, sounding like the trio they are; live, it was a denser and rockier. Dumbwaiters, in second slot, were a more aggressive combo, basically a standard four-piece with the singer switching from guitar to keyboard frequently. They did a pretty swell 60�s garage sound, with perhaps a smidgen more psychedelia than the genre would�ve originally encompassed, and veering towards new-wavey power-pop-rock.

Calla came on third, and put up a very solid set. They�re now officially a quartet, and mesh even more tightly than in the past. Regrettably, I don�t know most of what they played, as it was primarily from the forthcoming album�can�t wait, as it�s a joy to get a new record and start recognizing songs. After overcoming a brief amp problem, they really got it going. I only distinctly recognized two songs: �It Dawned on Me� currently available at www.callamusic.com and �Strangler� from Televise, which was more jagged than the album version. The group dynamic was all over the place, in the best way. From single loop repetition to full-on caterwaul, the progression was beautiful. For the most part, the songs were the most accessible they�ve done to date. Works for me�

French Kicks finished off in an excellent way�as my first sighting did, this once again impressed with three vocalists, and multi-instrumentalism. For some reason, they often get knocked as being poppy; we should all be slurred so horribly. The set was fairly familiar, being mostly The Trial of the Century rearranged, with �Wrong Side� and �Down Now� referred to as �old song[s]�, as though they didn�t have two ep�s prior to the debut. The exception was a pretty snappy (and faithful) cover of “Regret” by New Order. I guess it�s just fun playing the new stuff. It�s hard to find fault with Nick jumping on spare snare for some extra rim shots introing �Oh Fine�; with the vocal harmonies and chiming keyboards of the title track; with �The Falls� shuffling beat and guitars somehow sounding martial as they head to the money line: �Can�t tell you now, I�ll tell you later, what�s wrong with you. I�ll see you later, oh never mind, I�ll see you sometime, sometime.� Most of the crowd was at least moving, and some of it was full on dancing, including the guys from Candy Bars. Quite the fun and varied evening; I look forward to hearing more from all parties.