Gentleman Auction House, Yea Big + Kid Static, Bookmobile - High Five

Gentleman Auction House can’t seem to catch a break in Columbus. In June, the last time the St. Louis band came through, only a tiny handful of folks came out to the High Five. Last Thursday more people showed up at the same venue, but this time the band was plagued by sound problems all night.

Lead singer Eric Enger attempted to lead the seven-piece through “ABCDEFGraveyard,” a stomper of a tune the band likes to start off with, but Enger’s mic was cutting in and out throughout the song, so they had to stop and let the sound guy come back up and sort things out while the house music played again. Talk about a vibe killer.

It didn’t get much better on “Call it Casual,” but once “We Used to Dream About Bridges” kicked in, the band shook off the sound issues and started playing with the intensity they’re known for. And probably a little anger, too.

Enger’s Conor Oberst-ish voice led the bouncing band through indie pop anthems that pound their way into you. Anyone who wasn’t at least tapping a foot to the beat must have been a robot. And with everyone in the band shouting along to the songs, whether they had a mic or not, the performance felt like one big sing-along.

Before Gentleman Auction House took the stage, Michael Jackson was blaring through the speakers, and it was actually a fitting intro. There’s a reason GAH likes to throw in “R&B” when describing itself--some songs are all about the groove. “I Sleep in a Bed of Scissor Arms” is some of the most danceable indie rock you’ll hear this year.

The insistent snare of “The Book of Matches” anchored the last song of the set as floor toms flew off the stage and everyone screamed out their aggression for a night that could have been so much more. “We won’t stay down long,” Enger sang, and I believed him.

Preceding Gentleman Auction House was Yea Big + Kid Static, a Chicago rap duo I was completely unfamiliar with but thoroughly entertained by. Kid Static was a black dude in jeans and a T-shirt, and Yea Big was a red-haired white guy in yellow running shorts, a headband and socks pulled up to the tops of his ankles. An unlikely pair, to say the least.

The duo, which relied on a Macbook for the beats, started the set by stretching. Not I-just-woke-up stretching. These guys made sure to hit every muscle group. It was odd and a little awkward, but obviously tongue-in-cheek, and it made the next song all the more impressive when the two busted out their rhymes while making the stage look like a trampoline. Dance routines in the middle of songs were common, and to intro another tune the pair literally ran around the room yelling. With energy like that, even bearded hipsters and indie kids were getting down.

The acoustics of the High Five suck (wall of windows: nice-looking, bad for sound), so it was hard to discern a lot of Yea Big + Kid Static’s words, but what I did hear I liked. Some of it had dark overtones, but most of it was really playful, especially one about Mega Man (the Nintendo character) and another called “Eatchyo Samwich”--probably my favorite of the night.

Bookmobile’s set suffered from the bouncy acoustics, too, and a bad mix. Columbus’s ever-present man on the scene Sean Gardner (MeltyMelty, Kyle Sowashes, Winter Makes Sailors) was hard to hear above the guitar, but I still enjoyed his tunes. And his goofy dancing. Gardner’s the type of singer who sounds good even (or maybe especially?) when he’s off-key and often reminds me of David Bazan in that way. I liked the spastic guitar with choppy leads, too. So despite the sound issues, Bookmobile made a good impression. With all Gardner has going on, I don’t know if he considers this band a side project or not. But I say don’t relegate it to the sidelines.

mp3: Gentleman Auction House - I Sleep in a Bed of Scissor Arms
mp3: Yea Big + Kid Static - Eatchyo Samwich