In my pursuit to go to more concerts in DC, I found out that Ra Ra Riot is playing here next week (thank you City Paper), and in my quest to garner that ticket, I discovered on Monday that The Walkmen were going to be in town the very next night! I hadn’t been to the 9:30 club since high school, and why on earth had I stayed away so long? Fantastic sound in a beautiful space. Granted, paying $7 to drink beer out of a red solo cup is not exactly the dream, but paying $15 to see two phenomenal bands surely must be. Here We Go Magic opened for The Walkmen last night to a packed house.

Here We Go Magic, a dash of pop-y wonderfulness, let their songs build and build and build until the point of bursting. Sometimes I wonder how it’s possible to sense so much sound. I hadn’t heard that much of their stuff, only the tracks that Epsilon recommended, and those two, “Fangela” and “Only Pieces”, were definitely my favorites out of the set. Taking it past the neat recordings, they drifted and swelled until I almost forgot that I had been listening to the same song for what seemed like ten minutes (in the best way!). They sweetly paved the way, but The Walkmen truly ruled the show.

“It’s good to be home”, the lead singer of The Walkmen declared, and there’s nothing like seeing a band on their home turf (all of them save one went to high school in DC!). I’d forgotten how much I love The Walkmen, and they put on a damn good show. It also didn’t hurt that they were playing the most beautiful guitars. They had a horn section (featuring the frontman’s wife, how cute) that really heated things up, and added a much appreciated punch to several songs. They delighted us with new material, which is as blissful as the old. There was so much passion in every single performer, the drummer and a fierce triangle player instantly come to mind, and are one of the few bands that I think outdo their recordings live. I always think that encores are a little bit silly, we’ll all pretend that you’re gone, but you always come back. This time was well worth the wait, however, as The Walkmen reeled us back in with not one, but three more songs, including “The Rat”, “When I used to go out, I would know everyone that I saw. Now I go out alone, if I go out at all” , high school memories came flooding back. Hands down the best show I’ve seen in the past couple of months, and if they’re coming your way, don’t think, just go.

The Walkmen – In the New Year
The Walkmen – The Rat