*Flight Of The Conchords/Kristen Schaal @ Tower Theater/4.18.09
*The Pains of Being Pure at Heart/Caution Children @ Risley Hall (Cornell)/ 4.25.09
Flight of the Conchords and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart presented two shows that illuminated the difference between old school comedy and new school comedy. For the purposes of this review, by old school comedy I mean traditional joke based humor and by new school comedy I am referring to now seemingly omnipresent humor based on awkward situations, led by genre godfathers Larry David and Ricky Gervais.
As those who have drowned in the wake of ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic’s success might attest, finding and maintaining an audience with funny songs is no easy task. What the Flight of the Conchords have achieved, rising from cult following to mass cultural prominence (defined by an HBO series and an album in 2008 that debuted at #3 in the US and eventually reached Platinum status, not to mention the 7.2 from Pitchfork) is a testament to their balance of songwriting and wit. The lyrics, clever and funny, combine with memorable hooks in songs that mimic all genres to complete the Conchords definitive style.
Playing back-to-back sold-out shows in one night at the grand Tower Theater just north of Philly in Upper Darby, PA (ah, Pennsylvania, ancestral home of road construction), the duo, Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, displayed the chemistry and songwriting that are the foundation of their success. The between song banter often proved as funny as the songs with jokes about area legends Hall & Oates (or Holland Oates, for Charlie Kelly) and Instant Karma (Clement describing McKenzie’s flub at the beginning of Carol Brown after instructing the crowd on how to provide backing vocals for the song and demanding accuracy). Despite coming out in robot costumes, the Conchords did not open with Robots, but Too Many Dicks on the Dancefloor. Later, the duo brought out assistance in the form of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, which consisted of one cello player.
Other set highlights included: Hurt Feelings, I’m Not Crying, Jenny, I Told You I Was Freaky and Sugalumps. The encore included the classic Business Time and show closer Pencils In The Wind.
Opening the show was Kristen Schaal, who broke character from playing Mel, the duo’s biggest fan on HBO series, to steal chairs, joke about killing a genie for his pants and perform a few one act plays.
Here is a clip of the opening number from the second show that night (the audio is not the best but it gives a sense of the show - and there are many clips of FOTC out there, as well as the albums and the series):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZnn9J8s3hQ
The example of new school, awkward comedy really has more to do with me than the band. When I learned that The Pains of Being Pure at Heart were coming to Cornell it seemed like a chance to catch another young band playing an intimate show on a college campus before graduating to larger venues and more difficult to obtain tickets (just as Arcade Fire, The National, The Walkmen and Secret Machines played Ithaca in recent years). They were generating a lot of attention, positive reviews (including an 8.4 on Pitchfork) and their debut album sounds like a poppier My Bloody Valentine.
The venue for this show: Risley Hall, a residence on the Cornell campus. The problem, and moral of the story: people of a certain age (me) should probably not attend concerts in dorms. I am not one to fret about age too often and only certain circumstances make me conscious of it but never have I felt older than awkwardly hovering outside the crowd at this show. It’s not that I am on my last legs, either, but much of the audience appeared too young to have their driver’s license. I felt like Larry King must feel anywhere. I was the old guy telling kids to get off his lawn and quiet down. I felt more like a chaperone than an audience member.
Already being there I decided to revel in the awkwardness and hang near the back and at least hear the band, as I am a fan of their album. Playing much of their debut the band sounded good and seeing an up-and-coming band in such an intimate and unique setting is always worthwhile. Despite the unfortunate band name, their album and live performances are solid. I just need to make that sure that I attend any future on-campus shows with a gang consisting of elder statesmen, or just get hired to chaperone the event.
Fans of Curb Your Enthusiasm often ask: What Would Larry David Do? Well, I’d like to think he would have also stayed for The Pains of Being at Heart show but felt more at ease at the Flight of the Conchords show. Who wins when old school is pitted against new school? We may never know...(and I realize that fake dramatic conclusion is cheesy but I am too old too care).
*The Pains of Being Pure at Heart/Caution Children @ Risley Hall (Cornell)/ 4.25.09
Flight of the Conchords and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart presented two shows that illuminated the difference between old school comedy and new school comedy. For the purposes of this review, by old school comedy I mean traditional joke based humor and by new school comedy I am referring to now seemingly omnipresent humor based on awkward situations, led by genre godfathers Larry David and Ricky Gervais.
As those who have drowned in the wake of ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic’s success might attest, finding and maintaining an audience with funny songs is no easy task. What the Flight of the Conchords have achieved, rising from cult following to mass cultural prominence (defined by an HBO series and an album in 2008 that debuted at #3 in the US and eventually reached Platinum status, not to mention the 7.2 from Pitchfork) is a testament to their balance of songwriting and wit. The lyrics, clever and funny, combine with memorable hooks in songs that mimic all genres to complete the Conchords definitive style.
Playing back-to-back sold-out shows in one night at the grand Tower Theater just north of Philly in Upper Darby, PA (ah, Pennsylvania, ancestral home of road construction), the duo, Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, displayed the chemistry and songwriting that are the foundation of their success. The between song banter often proved as funny as the songs with jokes about area legends Hall & Oates (or Holland Oates, for Charlie Kelly) and Instant Karma (Clement describing McKenzie’s flub at the beginning of Carol Brown after instructing the crowd on how to provide backing vocals for the song and demanding accuracy). Despite coming out in robot costumes, the Conchords did not open with Robots, but Too Many Dicks on the Dancefloor. Later, the duo brought out assistance in the form of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, which consisted of one cello player.
Other set highlights included: Hurt Feelings, I’m Not Crying, Jenny, I Told You I Was Freaky and Sugalumps. The encore included the classic Business Time and show closer Pencils In The Wind.
Opening the show was Kristen Schaal, who broke character from playing Mel, the duo’s biggest fan on HBO series, to steal chairs, joke about killing a genie for his pants and perform a few one act plays.
Here is a clip of the opening number from the second show that night (the audio is not the best but it gives a sense of the show - and there are many clips of FOTC out there, as well as the albums and the series):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZnn9J8s3hQ
The example of new school, awkward comedy really has more to do with me than the band. When I learned that The Pains of Being Pure at Heart were coming to Cornell it seemed like a chance to catch another young band playing an intimate show on a college campus before graduating to larger venues and more difficult to obtain tickets (just as Arcade Fire, The National, The Walkmen and Secret Machines played Ithaca in recent years). They were generating a lot of attention, positive reviews (including an 8.4 on Pitchfork) and their debut album sounds like a poppier My Bloody Valentine.
The venue for this show: Risley Hall, a residence on the Cornell campus. The problem, and moral of the story: people of a certain age (me) should probably not attend concerts in dorms. I am not one to fret about age too often and only certain circumstances make me conscious of it but never have I felt older than awkwardly hovering outside the crowd at this show. It’s not that I am on my last legs, either, but much of the audience appeared too young to have their driver’s license. I felt like Larry King must feel anywhere. I was the old guy telling kids to get off his lawn and quiet down. I felt more like a chaperone than an audience member.
Already being there I decided to revel in the awkwardness and hang near the back and at least hear the band, as I am a fan of their album. Playing much of their debut the band sounded good and seeing an up-and-coming band in such an intimate and unique setting is always worthwhile. Despite the unfortunate band name, their album and live performances are solid. I just need to make that sure that I attend any future on-campus shows with a gang consisting of elder statesmen, or just get hired to chaperone the event.
Fans of Curb Your Enthusiasm often ask: What Would Larry David Do? Well, I’d like to think he would have also stayed for The Pains of Being at Heart show but felt more at ease at the Flight of the Conchords show. Who wins when old school is pitted against new school? We may never know...(and I realize that fake dramatic conclusion is cheesy but I am too old too care).
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