movin' to the country, gonna eat a lot of peaches

So I saw the Presidents of the United States of America play on Wednesday night! I am loath to use the word "epic" to describe anything that isn't Beowulf, but THEY WERE PRETTY EPIC. I almost didn't go because I needed to start/finish a painting due the next day, but missing out on legendary bands for stupid reasons is inexcusable, like the time X came to my city last summer and I didn't go because no one I know in Cincinnati has heard of them. How depressing is that? Also, Syracuse is the worst city ever and no bands want to come here, so if anyone halfway worth seeing passes by on tour, you're pretty much obligated to go.

The opening band was a cute little indie-electro-pop duo from Ireland called Oppenheimer. They were pretty decent, but played for AGES and the crowd was a bit rude to them. The guitar/keyboardist spoke in a robot voice through his mic the entire time, which was gimmicky but still kind of entertaining. They sounded a bit like Ra Ra Riot without as many instruments, I thought, which reminded me that I had to miss out on Ra Ra Riot at the same venue a few weeks ago because of my damn play. BALLS.

Anyway, the people-watching was fantastic because Syracuse locals are a weird-looking bunch. I think Renee and I might have been the only SU students there, the rest were mostly aging, beardy hipsters hovering around the bar. Lots of beards, lots of beaten-up fedoras, lots of awkwardly-cut pant legs. Will someone please outlaw the mid-calf-length trouser? I will start the campaign myself. Please.

The Presidents finally wandered onstage, said hey, and launched into "Love Everybody". I'm not really all that familiar with them outside of their popular songs, but they played "Kitty", "Lump", "Peaches", and "Dune Buggy", and covered MC5's "Kick Out the Jams" and "Video Killed the Radio Star", which was everything I wanted to hear. So... well done, Presidents! They played a fantastic show, were hilarious and incredibly energetic. Oppenheimer was a bit of a downer, but as soon as the Presidents came on, the energy in the room skyrocketed. The set list as best as I can remember went something like:

Love Everybody ("Are you adequately prepared to rock?"
Kitty
Dune Buggy ("This is a trilogy about bugs!")
Bug City
Ladybug ("This is dedicated to my lovely girlfriend, Katie, who is so far away from me right now... She's all the way at the back, selling our merchandise.")
Sharpen Up Those Fangs
Flame Is Love
Lump
More Bad Times
Feather Pluckn
Froggie
Back Porch
Poke & Destroy
Volcano
Peaches

encore:
Kick Out the Jams
Video Killed the Radio Star
We Are Not Going to Make It

Pretty bangin'. Definitely one of the best live shows I've seen. I took a few videos as well, but the sound quality is terrible so I'll spare you. Here, have a crappy picture from my phone instead: