Friday night I blew off a $10 ticket I had already bought for Sufjan Stevens at Mercury Lounge, so that I could go hear my friend Lauren's band Prufrockian Idle. I've been enjoying Sufjan Stevens's Michigan Album since my friend Joe gave it to me. Interestingly, Joe turned me down when I invited him to join in on the concert-going--explaining that he didn't want his experience of the album to be altered by a live show. I've felt this way before myself. Anyway, I just wasn't feeling like going to listen to a show alone in a crowd of wimpy, boring indie rock kids who clap politely but never even bob their heads let alone dance. So I blew him off for Prufrockian Idle, where I knew my friend Melissa would be.

First of all, I think coming up with a cool name for your band is important, and any band name with a reference to T.S. Elliott is cool by me (in fact, I think if I ever had a band I would call it "Cats Now and Forever" but that's another story). The show was at a place in Tribeca called Orange Bear, whose bartending staff had to be told how to make the drink I ordered (Negroni = equal parts gin, campari, and sweet vermouth...mmmmmmm...). The crowd was, well, the crowd was Lauren and Candice's friends and family (but hey, we all had a good time, and it didn't look like the masses were exactly showing up for the act that followed them either...), but we applauded enthusiastically instead of politely.

Prufrockian Idle on stage at the Orange Bear

The band is just voice, guitar, and drums, and I liked the combination a lot. Their songs are kind of like the Marine Girls--Tracy Thorn's pre-Everything But The Girl band--breezy guitar-based songs that make you want to bury your feet in the sand at sunset while holding hands with the girl you love, even though you just had a fight and you have no idea what the future holds. Is that too specific? (See downloads page for a Marine Girls song; Lauren, give me an MP3 and it will be there too...). Lauren's singing voice is smoother and airier than I would have expected from her speaking voice. She sang a great song about addiction (to love, I believe, nothing illegal (in most states)) with Candice playing this fantastic backward beat on the drums. Like a lot of intelligent music that is best heard live, these girls actually use dynamics, with quiet verses building to loud choruses and vice versa. My only complaint would be that they didn't let themselves go loud enough. Lauren belted out a few lines here and there, but the guitar and the drums never took off. And while I realize that that's most certainly a purposeful aesthetic, I think it's one that should be left to studio recordings--but when playing live, if you want to drown out the rude, incompetent bartender (or, hopefully at future shows, the drunken girls with big purses and cigarettes at the back of the crowd) you've got to let the letting go go a little louder in the loud parts.

But that's a minor critique of show I really loved. It's always terrifying to go see your friends perform because a.) you want them to do well and be big stars even though they're just getting started, and b.) you're terrified that you won't like what they do. So, for me the night was a great success because not only did they do well, but I thought what they do is just great.