Los Campesinos! w/ Jeffrey Lewis and the Jitters @ Lee's Palace

Hold On Now, Youngster..., the debut full length by Cardiff's Los Campesinos! is almost certain to rank extremely high on my year end best of list. The CD is just about as much fun as an album can get, so naturally, I expected the show at Lee's Palace to be nothing short of a veritable blasty blast! And a blasty blast it was!

This has been the busiest weekend that I can remember in a long time and remembering specific details about what happened late Friday night is not going to be easy, so you'll have to pardon me if this review comes across as a bit vague. I do remember that they were very energetic, and that energy only escalated as the evening went on. They kept the banter to a minimum, letting the music and dancing take precedence. Their myspace propelled "hit" You! Me! Dancing! was definitely the highlight of the night. What was great about it was the extended intro that was mega effective at building anticipation. It was cool to watch Gareth and Ollie bang away at the drums until that unmistakable riff took over and got the crowd bouncing and jumping along, creating a sweat level that could not be topped if the show took place in a sauna. In a way it sort of did. Man, it gets hot at Lee's. The last song had Gareth climbing the giant speaker to the left of the stage, much to the crowds delight.

Photos: Los Campesinos! @ Lee's Palace on flickr.
Downloads: Don't Tell Me To Do Math(s) mp3

Downloads: We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives mp3


I didn't have much of a desire to see Jeffrey Lewis again because I just saw him last week at this very venue. So I deliberately left my place late, but as I walked in, the familiar whine was in the air, and Jeffrey was in the middle of his Complete History of Punk Rock and its Development on the Lower East Side 1950-1975. It was amusing and entertaining to see people dance along to the 30 second snippets of classic punk that were spread intermittently throughout his beat poet like delivery of punk rock fun facts. This time around he had his band The Jitters with him as well as a projector to show his comic book art in the background. It was cool. I guess. I did like his Daniel Johnston t-shirt..

Photos: Jeffrey Lewis and the Jitters @ Lee's Palace on flickr
Download: End Results mp3

Myspace: Jeffrey Lewis and the Jitters