Indie
rock sledgehammers ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead invaded D.C.
last night and played a spectacular show to a small but rabid audience at the
9:30 Club. The band was showing off their new, revamped lineup which features a
new bassist (whom singer/guitaist Conrad Keely referred to only as "tall
fuck") as well as an additional drummer named Donnie. Having an extra
percussionist lent even more bombast to the bands tunes and provided plenty of
rhythm for Keely and guitarist Kevin Allen to work their intricate guitar
melodies over. Allen was fond of literally sticking his guitar into his amp to
get the sound he needed while Keely was content to stay in the middle of the
stage and groove back and forth with his eyes shut.
The
band ran through a multitude of their hits, including DCist faves "Mistakes
& Regrets" and "How Near, How Far," but the best tune of the
night was a revamped version of "A Perfect Teenhood" that saw a slower
intro and a hushed middle break before the song ramped back up to full volume.
The audience also got a primer for their upcoming record, titled Worlds Apart
and due out on Interscope Records next year, as the band played a few new
tracks, including "Summer of 91" which featured Keely on keyboard.
The
band figures to come back through town once the new record is released and you
can be sure DCist will be there front and center.