Le Tigre and Beck

Le Tigre has been one of my favorite bands for a while now. Not really because of their pro-feminist lyrics or women with a "y" (spelled womyn) attitude however their fun stage presence and cool beats, yes, that is what ropes me in every time. Went to a show at the Fillmore earlier this fall and it was a great set. Lots of lesbians around, dancing, singing along with the band, and great videos to coincide with the music. Mind you they were headlining so it was inevitable that the folks whom came to the show were there to see Le Tigre and were bound to be into it. Last night at the Bill Graham Auditorium, it was a very different feel. When Le Tigre bounded on stage there were a few claps and some hootin' and hollering from the 15 lesbians in the crowd but that was it. It was a serious too kool for school crowd which San Francisco is famous for, and by god, it's lame. Miss B and I danced and carried on while the white bread crowd stared as if to say "What's their problem?". During the song FYR (Fifty Years of Ridicule, which isn't my favorite song but still a signature track from Le Tigre's repertoire) several men were rolling their eyes, clearly uncomfortable, appearing as though they were thinking "OK, enough with this feminist bullshit, bring on Beck.". Props to Le Tigre for rockin' it and putting on a great show while the stick up their ass crowd of San Francisco stood with their hands in their pockets staring at the ceiling.

The auditorium was much larger than I had anticipated. Thinking it was more of a auditorium than a coliseum, I was soon corrected after taking a look around. The stage was raised up which helped a bit for folks like myself whom are vertically challenged. No doubt about it, I always end up behind the tallest person at the show, which isn't very difficult to do coming in at 5'5". There was no ventilation either which was hard to take between sets. Miss B was on the verge of passing out and we had also done a hard run with sprints earlier that day so it just wasn't a good mix. Not sure I would go to a show here again.

Beck was wonderful. The crowd finally got into it a bit and everyone appeared to be having a good time, with the exception of the woman standing next to Miss B with her hands jammed in her pockets with a huge frown on her face. How can one frown when Beck is on stage? He's this tiny bundle of energy playing every kind of instrument in the book, singing, dancing, and having a great time up there. It was contagious. Everyone in his band was having a blast as well! I was most impressed with his use of the harmonium, which I have only seen used well at yoga class. He rocked it! During the more sleepy sad songs, the other band members would either back Beck up non-instrumentally or sit and play cards while he sang/played. It's hard to pick a best of set because it was all so good. Am glad I finally got to see Beck!