The xx is one of my favorite bands and has been since the first time I heard them. I listened to their album (
xx) several times over in one day, and became somewhat obsessed with their music. The fact that they only had one album out likely added to me becoming such a huge fan, but their first album stood alone for three years, so I obviously wasn't the only one who stuck around patiently waiting for their second album to be released. Of course, along with the release of their second album,
Coexist, came a tour around the U.S., which isn't their native country. That was another thing that had become a dreaded feeling for me as I fell in love with their music: the fact that they are from the UK meant that I would likely never see them in concert. So earlier this year, when I heard The xx was going to be doing a U.S. tour, I practically jumped for joy. My friend and I decided we would go together and we got the tickets. It had sold out within minutes, so we were fortunately able to find tickets with hiked prices from a resale website. (Totally worth it.) Outside the Palladium before the show, I was interviewed on camera for Livenation!
The two bands opening for The xx were 2:54 and John Talabot. I hadn't heard either of them live before, but I knew the band 2:54 was also from the U.K.
I didn't hear much of John Talabot's set after finding the first couple of songs uninteresting and uncomfortable, but listening to 2:54 was the best way I could have imagined to prepare myself for The xx. The crowd seemed to get really into the band and the energy building inside the venue
When The xx took the stage, I think the only reason I didn't go deaf was my own loud cheering. I've genuinely never felt suck positive energy and heard so many people who knew the lyrics to the songs being played at a show before.
I was a little concerned that they might overtake the show with only songs from their new album, which although I liked, wasn't what I'd been listening to for the past few years on repeat! They managed to play quite the balanced set-list between both albums that pleased the crowd very much. The band's stage presence is phenomenal and their gratitude obvious. They even added a light show that changed throughout the night, which just added to the experience. I was impressed by how many fans knew the lyrics to the songs from
Coexist, considering it didn't come out long ago.
Without question, it was my favorite concert of the year and possibly of all time.
Photos by Daisy Marietta, (c) October 2012
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Mystery Skulls (aka Luis Dubuc)is a new project, but it's obvious as the time passes that Luis has such diversity as an artist. Having just seen his first performance as Mystery Skulls last summer and enjoying it thoroughly, I wasn't sure what to expect when I found out he was touring with Robert Delong. From the moment I stepped into the room and saw his extensive set-up on stage and felt the energy of the crowd, I knew that he had grown even just in the past months since summer.
