Dappled Cities / Figurines @ Spaceland, 10/16/07

What can I say...I got there early, had a Tanqueray dirty martini, picked a few songs on the jukebox in the smoking lounge, played pool through the One AM Radio set, and then waited for Dappled Cities to start. I had heard the name but wasn't familiar, and usually I'll at least check the myspace page for the opening bands prior to the show, but I didn't this time. Not that it mattered, because I was completely blown away by Australian band Dappled Cities.

The singer transitioned from low to higher falsetto notes with fluid ease, and the entire band was tight, crunchy, and poppy throughout. The vocals were very similar to the Shins and Weezer's River Cuomo on some tracks, and I spotted obvious influences by Mercury Rev, Flaming Lips' Soft Bulletin, and a little bit of Pavement and Arcade Fire. Now I know there are a lot of bands that consist of "white boys with guitars" as an former Mexican co-worker once put it, but these guys made good use of keyboards/guitar/bass/drums. Great chemistry, good energy...a really fun live show! The crowd was fairly large for this one, and people seemed into it, so that always helps an opening band.

I purchased their CD, the wonderful self-titled Dappled Cities, and I really like it! It's kind of like the first time I heard the Shins' Chutes Too Narrow. Great catchy hooks, just like seeing them live, and a good powerful production. I realized that on some songs, singer Tim Derricourt has a very Morrissey sounding voice, something I hadn't noticed seeing them live.



By the time Danish headliners Figurines went up, the crowd grew a little more full, but dwindled down to a scarce number after around 4 or 5 songs. They played around 12 songs total but most of them are fairly short. Definite highlight of the night was their performance of "The Air We Breathe" which is a great song in the style of Beach Boys. Fucking amazing vocal harmonies on this one!



Thanks to my sister Sheri for helping me to take a some amazing photos!