Even though I’m not terribly religious, I’m kind of a geek when it comes to houses of worship because I respect the traditions and what the buildings represent to its people. And for me, it’s even better when the house of worship in question hosts concerts because music means so much to me. Philly has its First Unitarian Church and D.C. has 6th and I Synagogue. The synagogue’s interior is a beautiful mauve, with blue and purple stained glass windows. I’d say without a doubt that it’s the prettiest place I’ve ever been to for the expressed purpose of a gig. For the xx‘s headlining gig Sunday night, I thought to myself that it was almost a shame that the altar was obscured by a huge black sheet with an X in the middle of it. I say “almost” because as you will read, we were in for a big surprise at the end.
Los Angeles electronic producer Nosaj Thing (real name Jason Chung) was the first of two opening acts for the evening. Media outlets have compared Chung’s sound to fellow Californian Flying Lotus because both incorporate hip hop into experimental, electronic sound and also utilize glitch-hop, a genre I’m not familiar with at all. I thought he was an interesting choice to open for the xx, since they brought London electronica artist Jon Hopkins with them last time they toured North America. Augmented by serious hip hop beats and what sounded like birds scuttling from a Macbook, Chung punched keys, twisted dials, and generally looked like a man possessed by the music. Overall, he was an enjoyable opening act.
Next, was the mysterious Swedish duo jj. Inbetween the sets, I talked to a friend of mine and he said jj was so mysterious, no one knew much about them because they don’t tour very much at all. I only knew one of jj’s songs, the ethereal “Let Go,” a song from their second album jj nº 3 released in early March. So seeing singer Elin Kastlander, with her curly blonde hair falling past her shoulders and dressed up like a hippie and standing on stage by herself, I had no idea what to expect. Then she opened her mouth and this gorgeous voice came out, fully complementing the Balearic beats emanating from a laptop next to her. Judging from audience’s enthusiastic clapping and catcalls, there were many jj fans in attendance that night.
As much as the audience was feeling the music, I felt bad for Kastlander though: she barely made eye contact with the audience and looked very uncomfortable standing there by herself as a light projector changed colors that reflected off her face and on the synagogue’s walls. What made things even weirder was her jj partner Joakim Benon, getting up several different times from his seated position on the stage and giving Kastlander hugs, as if for a job well done. I guess Benon does all the programming and such and maybe didn’t need to perform for performance’s sake, although at one point he did stand up and strap on an acoustic guitar to play a couple chords, to the crowd’s applause but yes, to say the least, the setup was strange.
The xx played two shows at Sixth and I on Sunday because the evening show had sold out so quickly, a matinee earlier in the day was quickly scheduled to meet ticket demand. It’s not often that any band will have a big enough demand to fill two shows in one day in Washington, so you know this band is something special. Their star just keeps on rising, with their songs appearing in an AT&T commercial during the Olympics and on “Gossip Girl” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” They haven’t really taken a break from touring, except in February when they canceled some European dates when guitarist Romy Madley-Croft‘s father passed away.
Having seen this London band several times already, I know why I keep coming back: vocals and guitar by Madley-Croft, vocals and bass from Oliver Sim and programming and percussion from Jamie Smith come together just right to make music that nearly brings tears to my eyes every time I hear their songs. “Heart Skipped a Beat,” with Madley-Croft singing, “It’s been a while / and you’ve found someone better / but I’ve been waiting too long to give this up / the more I see I understand / but sometimes I still need you,” should make your heartache. I know that’s the effect their music has on me. I noticed Madley-Croft has a new guitar, but her playing is still the same – spot-on and still incredible, sounding great against Sim’s bass lines and the percussion taps of Smith’s.
They’re a soft-spoken band to begin with, so it was nice to see bassist Sim loosen up after gauging the audience’s enthusiasm for their band and chat a bit with the audience between numbers. Before starting to play “VCR,” Sim smiled at us and said, “So nice to be back here on our first U.S. headlining tour!” (I guess the one they did here last November was a trial run?) He made everyone laugh when he continued with “[I'm] starting to feel that chili dog I had earlier…” Of course someone in the audience yelled out, “Ben’s?” Sim replied, “Yes, Ben’s Chili Bowl!” The place erupted in cheers. Before an absolutely gorgeous rendition of “Nighttime,” he commented with a grin, “This venue’s incredible! I feel like a religious figure!”
When the band returned for an encore, the backdrop with the X emblazoned on it became a sea of stars, perfectly suited to end the show with the wonderfully sensual “Stars.” While they might not be religious figures in the conventional sense, the xx always deliver a mind-blowing show, and this is one devotee who will keep coming back for more.
The xx Set List
Intro
Crystalised
Islands
Heart Skipped a Beat
Fantasy
Shelter
VCR
Do You Mind (Kyla cover)
Basic Space
Nighttime
Infinity
//
Stars
Tour Dates
Mar 31 – Webster Hall / New York City
Apr 02 – Paradise / Boston (2 shows)
Apr 03 – Metropolis / Montreal
Apr 04 – Phoenix / Toronto
Apr 05 – Wexner Center / Columbus
Apr 06 – Buskirk Chumley Theater / Bloomington, IN
Apr 08 – Lincoln Hall / Chicago (two shows)
Apr 09 – Varsity Theatre / Minneapolis
Apr 12 – Showbox SoDo / Seattle, WA
Apr 13 – Commodore Ballroom / Vancouver
Apr 14 – Crystal Ballroom / Portland
Apr 15 – Fox Theatre / Oakland%
Apr 17 – Coachella Music Festival / Indio, CA
Apr 19 – Riviera Theatre / Chicago%
Apr 20 – Koolhaus / Toronto%
Apr 22 – Terminal 5 / New York City%
Apr 23 – Sonar / Baltimore
Apr 24 – 9:30 Club / Washington, DC%
% supporting Hot Chip
The xx: website | myspace | @ Music Hall of Williamsburg | @ DC9 | @ Paradise | @ Newbury Comics, Boston
Nosaj Thing: website | myspace
jj: myspace
