Tapes N’ Tapes – First Ave 12/29/2006
Source: morecowbell.net
Tapes N’ Tapes @ First Ave 12/29/06 (photo courtesy of Photo courtesy of Stacy Sandstrom)
What a difference 5 months (and a world tour) makes! While their sold out gig at First Ave back in July seemed to be a giant party for the band, this show was not only a celebration of their amazing year, but also a chance for them to show their hometown a few new tricks they’ve learned after a year on the road. Not that they weren’t a very solid live band already, but of the 10+ times I’ve seen them over the last 2 years, this was hands down their tightest musical performance I’ve seen. You could compare this show to a great high school friend of yours coming back from his or her first semester at college. They’ve come back sporting a new haircut, maybe a new wardrobe, and while they are still the same friend you always knew, there’s just something a bit different and at times much cooler about them. The time apart has only made you appreciate them and your friendship even more.
Opening the show exactly as ‘The Loon‘ opens with ‘Just Drums‘, the band was clearly fired up for the gig. They easily could have taken the holidays off to recoup from their year long tour that took them all over the world, not to mention after the unfortunate incident in Australia in which they had a ton of their stuff stolen. But they chose to share it and celebrate with their family & friends as well as their hometown fans. To me that says a lot about not only the bands character but their appreciation of their fans as well.
After a barrage of tracks from ‘The Loon‘ and even a few from their earlier EP (’Beach Girls‘ & later in the show ‘Icedbergs‘), came the highlight of the entire show (for me anyway). ‘10 Gallon Ascots‘, which i’ll admit isn’t one of my favorite songs on the record, but this version was just incredible. The show was really good up until that point, but from there on out it was nothing short of amazing.
They ended the main set with ‘Insistor‘, which has since become their best known song as evidenced by how huge the crowd erupted during it. After some nice words and a thanks from Josh, they left the stage, only to come back and and play the b-side to ‘Insistor‘, ‘Frankfurt‘. Just as they opened the show with ‘Just Drums‘, they closed the show exactly how ‘The Loon‘ ends, with ‘Jakov’s Suite‘. The lyrics that close the song seemed to be a totally fitting way to end not only the show, but also an absolutely banner year for them.
“You don’t move, You don’t move
When you don’t move, You don’t move away”
No matter what the future holds for Tapes N’ Tapes, no matter how big they may get, and no matter how long they remain together as a band, I can guarantee you that 2006 will be a year that these guys NEVER forget and will look back on for the rest of their lives.
That said, i absolutely cannot wait for album number two, especially with Erik now being a full time member of the band. They’re just getting started…
