Koufax - 2/22/06 - Emo's

I finally had the opportunity to see Koufax this past week at Emo's. The best description I can give of their sound is keyboard driven pop rock, and it's quite catchy stuff. People have compared them to Hot Hot Heat, and in some ways I can see that. I first heard about them a few years ago on a message board I used to occasionally post on. Someone recommended them, so I downloaded their song "Let us Know", and it just instantly clicked with me. From there I checked out more of their stuff and became a pretty big fan.

Well, the show was for the tour they are currently doing with The Honorary Title, Limbeck and Cory Branan. I'd only heard of The Honorary Title in passing, and really didn't know anything about the other two, so I was surprised to see that Koufax was third on the bill (2nd to play). I questioned if it was really worth going since I knew they were going to play a pretty short set, I didn't know the other bands, and no one wanted to go with me (even after my numerous offers to pick up the ticket of anyone who accompanied me and provide them with a few refreshing beverages). I had already missed Koufax their last couple times they came through town, though, and I've missed far too many concerts over the years because people are lame, so I just said what the hell, and went.

The show started at 5:30, which is amazingly early, and was on the indoor stage at Emo's. I think the only other show I've seen indoor at Emo's was Lucky Boys Confusion (with Swizzle Tree) the last time they were in town. It's not my favorite venue....for a show that small, I much prefer the indoor stage at Stubb's or The Parish...but what you gonna do?

Koufax couldn't have played for more than 25 minutes, but in their short set they managed to play probably the best possible set list I could have come up with. They basically played all my favorite songs from their 2 last albums Social Life and Hard Times are in Fashion. The only song I would have changed was the one they kicked off the show with: 'Going to Happen'. It just doesn't have the same bite as most of their other stuff. It's from their debut It Had to do With Love (and really the only song I knew from that album, since I'd never been able to get my hands on it, and could never find it anywhere other than Amazon where it goes for around $17; fortunately they were selling it at the show for 10 bucks so I picked it up). From the best I can remember, the rest of the show was an equal sampling from the other 2 albums. The Social Life songs were Let us Know, Social Life, Younger Body, and Adultery (though the lead singer called it "We Don't Go Church", which was pretty funny); and from Hard Times they did Why Bother at All, Stephen James, Colour Us Canadian, and Back and Forth.

They put on a pretty good show. They played their songs with a good amount of energy, and just kept the tunes coming with only a few minimal talking bits in between. The crowd was pretty sedate (clearly they were there for the next bands), but I think the band managed to make a few new fans, as I noticed more people bobbing their heads as the set progressed. As far as I could tell, I was the only one who really knew who they were. I think a venue with better acoustics would be more fitting for their sound, particularly if you don't know the band. They're gonna have to sell a few more records for that, though.

As for everyone else...
I got there a song or two into Cory Branan's set. He's just a dude with a guitar crooning about chicks and whatnot. He did that whole singing a little off tempo from the guitar, trying to fit too many words into not enough beats, and changing constantly the intensity and pitch of his voice. I didn't find it particularly special, but it wasn't bad. I'll stick with Bright Eyes if I need a singer/songwriter fix, though.

Limbeck came on after Koufax. From the show, I'd describe them as a more rugged version of Fountains of Wayne, but not as good. They played this one song called 'Sin City' which I dug, but other than that, there wasn't much else that was too memorable. I sorta got freaked out at times, though, because it seemed like the lead singer was constantly staring at me (well can you blame him?), but maybe he was just checking out the slew of high school girls that surrounded me. (Side note: I feel like the majority of concerts I go to nowadays are overpopulated with teeny bopper high school kids...is that saying something about my musical tastes?....).

Anyway, by the time Limbeck finished their set, I had to pee really bad and found that you couldn't walk 5 feet into the bathroom at Emo's without sludging through standing water/urine/and who knows what else. I thought for a second about just standing in the doorway and adding to the fine mess, but I quickly decided that it might not be the course of action, so I headed out and missed The Honorary Title. I checked out a few of their songs before the show, and they were fine, but nothing caught my ear enough to make it necessary for me stay.

Overall, I'm glad I went. I'd prefer to see Koufax in a different setting, or headlining their own show, but it was the first show I've been to since Foo Fighters/Weezer in the fall (Editors note: I just realized I saw Ben Folds in December, so this previous statement is a flat out lie), so it was time for some live music. Also, I finally got to see Koufax live, got a cool Koufax tshirt (for only 10 bucks!...its been a long time since I bought a shirt that cheap outside of a thrift store), finally picked up the first Koufax album, and got to hang out with a bunch of 16 year olds. Good times. Good times indeed.