Tragically Hip

New York

After a few hours mooching around the East Village I went to the Bowery Ballroom to see a couple of bands. Now, I've always thought of myself as being at least averagely trendy. I don't 'do' cool clothes or shoes but I can happily hold a conversation about Doves b-sides or the films of Wim Wenders. At all the gigs I've been to so far in America I've ususally been among the handful of scenesters loitering around at the back, affecting an air of superiority. But last night that was blown right out of the water. The crowd at the gig weren't just achingly hip, they positively reeked of it. Everywhere I went I heard people name dropping obscure West African singers or prattling on about contemporary art exhibitions. I'm fairly sure my accent was the only reason I was allowed to mingle with this set, but I did my best to stay out of the way so as not to interrupt anyone's flow.

Detroit band Blanche came on first. They dressed like characters from a Poirot novel and played intense alt.country. Most places they'd be laughed off the stage for their ridiculous attire, but here they got a decent reception. The hipsters had all shown up to see The Kills though, and soon enough on they came. If The White Stripes didn't exist this boy/girl duo wouldn't have a record deal, but they do and so they do, even though their desperate desire to stay as a duo curiously means the drummer is relegated to playing from off stage somewhere.

These days a lot of bands take on all the trappings of being successful - they feature in trendy magazines, are seen at all the right parties - without actually being particularly popular with the general public. They only assume the air of success because self-appointed arbiters of cool decide they ought to be successful. The Kills are one such band, and last night the audience was full of such people. They put on a good show, even though they played up the supposedly ambiguous nature of their relationship far too much for me, but nothing could hide the fact they haven't got any good songs. It's all very emperor's new clothes.