Bettie Serveert w/ The Deaths

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I'm afraid I missed Mean Larry at the Entry on Valentine's Day. I have no excuse except to say that dinner ran late and O' Donovans serves the kind of vodka I like and the Entry doesn't. I've heard good things about his shows and I promise one of these days I'll catch him.
I did walk into the Entry in time to see The Deaths take the stage. I have to say I was quite impressed. I believe one of their first songs was birmingham, the first track off of their 2004 cd Choir Invisible. The song reminded me of The Monkees, and that's a good thing. They bring a very catchy kind of country-tinged pop rock backed by a group of very capable players. Their good-natured banter with the crowd was as entertaining as their music. Vocalist Karl Qualey and bass player Christopher Danforth joked between songs about the members of the audience who remained seated on the floor during their set. The sitters turned out to be promo people for new public radio station The Current who gave out bumper stickers after the show. It wasn't the best concert etiquette I've ever seen, but then again, it wasn't the worst either. I hope they got a chance to appreciate the band as I did. I also picked up Choir Invisble at the show and it's very good.
Bettie Serveert kept the crowd waiting awhile between sets, but it was worth it. Regretably, the Dutch band didn't bring any copies of their newest release Attagirl with them. I haven't had a chance to hear it yet, and the set was heavy on newer tunes. The band's dreamy pop songs coupled with Carol van Dijk's outstanding vocalsand Peter Visser's amazing guitar work have made Bettie Serveert one of the best bands of the last ten years. Their live show is always a joy to watch and this one was no exception.
Early in the set, the band pulled out one of their older tunes, Kid's Allright, from 1992's Palomine. They announced that it would rock and it certainly did. They played another Palomine track called Leg at the end of the show. It's always been one of my favorites and was nothing short of amazing.
The Entry was packed so I didn't stay for the encore. I'm sure the band kept the vibe started with Leg going a little longer and everyone left happy as I did. I even took my bumper sticker without reprimanding the promo people for their rudeness.