Earlimart and Okkervil River at Iota

earlimart
Originally uploaded by squidpants.

so i went to see Earlimart and Okkervil River the other day at Iota in Arlington. Okkervil River opened and have been getting a lot of buzz lately, and there was a big, mostly young crowd for them. However, they were not that great, I thought they seemed like a high school version of the Arcade Fire, even though they appeared older than that. They made lots of noise and had lots of people on stage, but it seemed like a lof of the band members weren't really necessary. I got the impression that they were pumped to be on tour, so they called all their pals with instruments and brought them all along. I was not impressed. However, a lot of thte young folks left after they finished, which was a shame, because they missed Earlimart putting on a very good show. I had only heard a few songs from their website before, but I really enjoyed the show. They play mid-tempo, sort of electronic, country-tinged rock with multiple guitars and keyboards. The singer sang in a whispery voice the whole time, which really fit all the songs well. It was obvious these guys were good musicians and had played a million times together, as they were really solid, but they also were enjoying themselves. The drummer was especially good, I thought, and when one of the keyboardists started to play a second drum set, the two drummers were exactly together, which was cool. I really enjoyed everything I heard, it was pretty melodic and interesting. I bought their new CD, "Treble and Tremble" at the merch table, and it's very good. The Okkervil River kids climbed on stage a lot to add a couple trumpet bits and tambourine, which was ok at first but got a little annoying after the fifth time. But oh well. And the Earlimart bassist was pretty hot too, though it's hard to tell from this picture. Damn cameraphone and dark Iota interior.