Seattle Subsonic

The xx Stirs It Up

November 30th, 2009

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The xx must have some sort of ‘x-factor’. No, really. The sold out crowd, at Neumos to see the tender London trio’s first stop in Seattle, was—other than druuunk—rowdy, raucous, and rambunctious. The three R’s of interactive audiences. But mostly with their voices, as if they ostensibly took on the same method the band themselves employ, where vocal-driven soul/rock/r&b ballads have a way of charming one’s pants off. All of this disquiet and good-natured cat-calling felt somewhat odd, though, given the soft and subdued complexion of their music. I, frankly, didn’t expect the people to be so riled up. But they were, and the band seemed appreciative of the candor (there was little talk from them).

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I dodged opener Holly Miranda, as well as headliner Friendly Fires, so no report on them. But it was plainly evident from my vantage point that many of the tickets were sold simply to ride the new wave that is the xx, and I’d wager the crowd was at its numerical peak when the surging second band played the first notes of “Intro”. Just as it does on record, it set a heavy goth-romance tone. “VCR” came next, and then “Basic Space”, which might’ve elicited more hoopin’ and hollerin’ than any other song, save for maybe “Crystalised”. As expected, Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim’s voices weren’t as crystal clear as the recordings, but it didn’t matter. “Shelter” led me to the realization that many of the xx’s songs are built on the slow, often creeping upwards in a crescendo. The elevation on this song was more intense than any other.

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They played “Islands”, with Croft’s plucky little giddy up guitar combining nicely with her pillowy voice. I suppose if you really paid attention, you might’ve noticed the absence of departed guitarist/keyboardist Baria Qureshi (Sim even warned us they might “fuck up”), but I thought the group did a nice job of filling in the gaps. Particularly when “Night Time” came on. Sim’s bass went straight to my knees and provided a bit of a corporal thrill. Is anyone else reminded of the lazy riff from Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” when listening to “Infinity”? Lord knows I am. It was the last of eight songs they played, as they skipped “Heart Skipped A Beat” and “Stars”. And with that, the set ended. Far too soon.

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Speaking of “Stars”, DJ IV Legend sent us this downloadable dance remix of the song. I can see where this might become a common occurrence.