Me and Kathy saw the Electric Six last week (7/6) at the House of Blues. I think they've gotten even better since the last show we saw.

Technically, the show was for The Psychedelic Furs, with the Six merely in the opening slot. This was emphasized by how non-plussed the crowd was by the Six. Clearly, Psychedelic Furs fans suck. Which reminds me:

Open letter to fat asswipe Psychedelic Furs fan who was up front near the stage:

Dear fat asswipe,

Yeah, you, the fat guy in the tan/brown horizontally striped Banana Republic polo shirt. You're an asshole. If you don't care about the opening band, why didn't you let the short blond girl E6 fan behind you get in front of you? I witnessed her ask you nicely, and I also witnessed you curtly rebuff her. What the hell. She would have let you have your precious spot back when the Furs came on; she probably didn't know who the Furs even are. (Hell, I don't.)

Why do you need to be so close to the stage anyway? Seriously, it's not like anything would impede your vision. You're huge! You've gotta be near 30 -- aren't you past the age where it's totally awesome that you touched the lead singer's hand when he reached into the crowd?

And how can you stand motionless during an entire set by the opening band? Really, I don't think you even tapped your foot. Normal humans usually have a reaction to rhythm, even if they don't necessarily like the music. You were a rock. You are also a tool. And tell the skinny guy next to you, who also rebuffed the blond girl, that he sucks too.

You're an ass,
Grant Birchmeier

So E6 played a great set, but the Furs fans didn't seem to care much. Some of them looked like they were getting into it, but not enough. Unfortunately, E6's set was running long, and the club cut them off before they could start their last track, which kinda sucked. No "Dance Commander" for us. And hey House of Blues guys, if I wanted to stand around an extra half-hour, I'd come earlier. If your web site says the show starts at 8:30, don't start it at 9.

We were comparatively young compared to the rest of the crowd. I don't expect that anymore, but I guess it makes sense when the headliner was on the Pretty in Pink soundtrack. I can't say how the Furs sounded, or even give an opinion on them in general, because I'm pretty sure I've never heard them. This was a Thursday night, and we had to work the next morning, so screw 'em. We left.

The Electric Six have a kinda bar rock sound on their first album, Fire. If you could personify lyrics, this album would be a skeezy guy at a singles bar who thinks he's Mr. Smooth. The lyrics are irreverent, and some might dismiss them as novelty, which I understand but would disagree with. Recurring themes are dancing and fire.

The second album, Señor Smoke, is marginally more serious and shows some musical growth. It includes a cover of Queen's "Radio Ga Ga" that sounds pretty good, and the video is quite over the top, to say the least. Dancing is still a prevalent theme, though fire is not.

The upcoming third album, Switzerland should be a marked departure from the previous two in that none of the song titles will contain the word "dance". I'm eagerly awaiting it.