concert: the streets

After weeks of hard work and paper writing, it was time to have a little fun. So after a trip by the bars, I headed into the city Monday night with a friend to go see the Streets, a British "rap" act infused with a heavy dub influence. So right as we rolled into the Fillmore, the opening act had just taken the stage -- a rap act named Phoenix and the Shadow, or something like that. For the most part they were fun to watch, but they did have a rather abysmal song "The First Time I Had Sex." It was so bad, I felt embarassed for them.

Then the Streets took the stage, opening with the first two songs from their album "Original Pirate Material". Their performance was short but sweet, lasting little over an hour and fifteen minutes. Though the set was little more than a direct rehash of their album, it was still a lot of fun. The musical highlight was probably their rendition of their popular radio hit "Let's Push Things Forward." At the end they changed the lyrics and instead starting singing "Ghost Town" by the Specials over the same musical backdrop. I love ska, especially the Specials, so this got me excited, though I was saddened that most the audience had no recognition of the song.

The real highlight of the show, however, was the drunken antics of the lead singer. We were informed that it was back up singer Kevin's last night performing with the band, so we all had "to get pissed." And so the lead singer proceeded to do so with his apparent drink of choice, a large bottle of brandy shared liberally with the front row crowd. At some point in the night it became apparent the brandy was missing, which sent the lead singer running frantically through the Fillmore searching for it, all the while exhorting "Brandy makes you randy!!" through his wireless mic. Failing to find the brandy, he instead emerged triumphant with a bottleof vodka -- "The brandy is gone... but WE GOT STOLI!!" This, too, was liberally dispersed to the front row fans. Then, in the middle of a song, a fan hands a note up to the singer, who walks off stage in the middle of the song to read it, and then comes back exclaiming, "I've just been informed that security has taken my brandy!", launching a tirade against the injustices of brandy-snatching. This somehow instigated the return of the brandy, allowing the lead singer to be jubilantly reunited with his drink of choice... "THE BRANDY IS BACK!!!!!!" Everything in its right place, we partied until the Streets exhausted their repertoire. Good times.

The lesson: drunken Brits with thick accents can be damn entertaining.