CMWA; Velour Action

Provo has been my buried treasure of hidden music that I have yet to uncover because of the drive down there on a consistent basis to watch shows. After hearing Ruru's album, I wanted to see this band live, so I was excited to finally be able to watch them at Velour for the City Weekly Music Awards.

As expected, I fell into the oldest person in the crowd category of over-caffeinated youngsters. The show was starting later than expected so I waited patiently in the corner. An older gentleman asked if I was a groupie of the band coming up. I defended myself by reporting to him that I was reviewing the show and he wanted to know who I was reviewing the show for. When I informed him that it was for City Weekly, you know, the publication that was putting this on, he proceeded to tell me that City Weekly was on his short list and that I needed to let them know that they needed to start acting like decent human beings. I politely nodded and smiled.

As he walked away he once again informed me that I really did look like a groupie and not a person covering the music. I sat there with a frozen smile and Ruru took the stage, the teenage singer clad in angel wings. They started the set out quite mellowly, and the crowd gathered around to listen. The boy has a wonderfully haunting voice. The emotion that he was putting into his songs probably should soothed the crowd for a moment, but naturally some people continued to talk through the performance. Isaac, the singer did stop and ask that if people were going to talk through his set that they take it outside or to the back. My little Jeff Tweedy protege was on my side this night. What he was doing and how he was putting himself into it did demand a certain amount of quiet respect, I give him that, though I did have the fear of whispering struck into me at this moment and remained statuesque through the rest of his set. Great set, I would love to hear them do some more rocking numbers though.

Since it was Gallery Stroll, I had to wander out to the clean Provo streets and admire the shops. My interest was especially set in a consignment shop called Coal Umbrella, so I made my way up there in between sets. Due to the stroll, it was a little uncomfortably packed, as though I were walking into a house party uninvited. They had loads of cute clothing, though I would like to come back on a regular night in order to take my sweet time not pushing people out of the way in order to browse.

Embarrassingly in my shopping frenzied haze I managed to miss Kid Theodore at Velour, but did get back in time in order to watch Neon Trees set the stage up. The singer was colorfully dressed in a green top with a bedazzled scarf, and the kids danced to thumping music while waiting for them. Once they started the crowd began to dance uncontrollably to their upbeat music. The singer was a natural at demanding attention, it was a little bit reminiscent of !!! and Does It Offend You, Yeah. The audience was not lacking in sweaty front row men that knew the lyrics to every song, one of them even kickbox dancing. The female drummer in the band was phenomenal; it's rare that I see a girl drummer rocking with such prowess. I commented to my friend that these guys sounded just as good, if not better than any touring band that I have heard coming through our downtown area, and they should make their way to us, I think they could just as easily pack a club for a night out in Salt Lake.
(Dominique LaJeunesse)