Panic In Detroit (or) I'm Rocking the Segues Like My Name Was Gob

So we went to Detroit for the Fourth yesterday. Candace has the scoop over here. (I stole her picture.) It was a lot of fun.

The Spoon show was awesome. Their set was well-balanced, with tracks spanning Girls Can Tell, Kill the Moonlight, Gimme Fiction and a few from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, which incidentally, I figured out how to say properly.* It was a long set, too, especially for a free show. They played for a good hour and a half, with little stopping between songs. I freaking love Spoon. In a world of plasticine pop stars with empty glass eyes (Sgt. Pepper's reference... see how I did that?), it's refreshing to hear a band with honest-to-goodness soul. They're like the love child of the Modern Lovers and Motown. Also, they have a kicking rhythm section and I am a sucker for rhythm. Personally, I blame David Byrne.

And society.

Speaking of rhythm, Femi Kuti (son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti) played earlier in the evening with his backing band, Positive Force. They rocked the heezy for sheezy. The only bad part of their set was the white lady who had most likely had one too many who was dancing all skanky and trying to get all freaky-deaky on her man IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET. Masty. Ah, white people, when will we learn to just Stop. Trying. To. Dance?

Speaking of white people dancing stupid, there was an overabundance of hippie kids at this shindig. Now a few hippies at an outdoor event is unavoidable. Like ants. Or sunburn. Only more annoying. The hackey-sacking, the epileptic-on-fire-type dancing, the Tevas or Birkenstocks, the hemp jewelry... I hate hippy kids. It's 2007 fercryeye. Jerry Garcia is dead and, sorry folks, the Dead were boring anyway. There I said it.

Oh yeah, and Detroit is a hole. I really wanted to be surprised by it, but it's a dump of a city. I know it's Motown and all, but I wanted to be out of that place ASAP. As in, immediately. As in, like, now. Eminem, the "D" is all yours.

Anyway, go see Spoon if they come through your town. And pick up Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga next Tuesday, the 10th. I'm buying it on vinyl, by the way. Oh yeah, and the new Interpol is out, too. Seriously, music, why are you trying to bankrupt me?

*It's "GahguhguhGAAHguh," said kind of quickly. I've been over-pronouncing it and knew here was a better way to be saying it, so it was an informative show.