Gentleman Auction House at The Futurist

I'll continue my pimping of underrated St. Louis band Gentleman Auction House by referring you to The Futurist, where they're hosting live mp3s of a recent WOXY Lounge Act. All the songs are keepers.

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

Gentleman Auction House - Alphabet Graveyard

Gentleman Auction House's debut full-length Alphabet Graveyard came out yesterday on Emergency Umbrella Records, and it would be tragic if an album this good flew under the radar. So go grab it at Emusic, Amazon, iTunes or your bricks-and-mortar record store of choice.

In my live review of the band's show at the High Five last month, I said they were "best described as indie pop, but with an insatiable fire behind it. Think of the pop sensibilities of a less-precious Belle and Sebastian, the bombast of Arcade Fire and the eccentricities of Danielson all rolled into one." I think that pretty much holds true for the album, too.

And mark you calendars to catch the band the second time around at the High Five Sept. 25 with Yea Big + Kid Static, Bookmobile and Wing & Tusk.

mp3: Gentleman Auction House - ABCDEFGraveyard

Gentleman Auction House - High Five, 6/19

The original plan last Thursday night was to see Headlights at Cafe Bourbon St. But because of the ongoing renovations/ownership changes/legal stalemate/whatever at Bobo, the show was moved to the High Five to be combined with Gentleman Auction House, which sounded like a good idea. Then Headlights canceled completely, and I had to decide if it was worth covering only Gentleman Auction House, a band out of St. Louis on Emergency Umbrella Records (also home to local up-and-comer Sinkane).

I decided to go, and in one sense, it probably wasn’t the best call journalistically because the place was mostly empty (apparently word got around quickly that Headlights canceled). But in another sense, it was the exact right call because this band was absolutely terrific, putting on one of the best performances I’ve seen this year. Had I not gone, I never would have known about this fantastic band, and you, dear reader, wouldn’t either.

Gentleman Auction House’s seven members just barely squeezed onto the stage, and judging by their exuberance, you would have thought they were playing to a packed house. The two drummers pounded their simple, propulsive beats in unison as keyboard, guitar, trumpet, xylophone, synth and one more floor tom (for good measure) fell in line around the beat. It was as if the musicians couldn’t contain the energy in the songs and had to let it all out, if not with an instrument than by dancing or flailing. How refreshing to see a band that realizes it’s OK to love what you’re doing and show it.

GAH is best described generally as indie pop, but there’s an insatiable fire behind it. Think of the pop sensibilities of a less-precious Belle and Sebastian, the bombast of Arcade Fire and the eccentricities of Danielson all rolled into one. It could very well be the sound of your new favorite band.

Taking center stage was singer/songwriter/guitarist Eric Enger, whose voice is like a thicker, less tortured Conor Oberst. Others joined in on the vocals when a raucous chorus was needed, but ebullient keyboardist Kiley Lewis’s backing contributions were the most complementary and crucial--almost as crucial as her phrenetic, perma-grin dancing. It all got me excited and energized, which is quite a feat for 12:45 on a Thursday night when the headliner canceled.

“ABCDEFGraveyard” kicked off the set, a hand-clap anthem with an irresistible start-stop beat and some cowbell. “The Book of Matches,” also the title of the band’s recently released EP, found most of the band frantically shouting the damn-the-man chorus: “We’re shot like cannonballs off a mountaintop into oceans of our history, and we won’t stay down.” “New Moon” revealed Enger at his most desperate, pleading, “If you don’t think you can love me just be kind with the proof/ ‘Cuz I got a delicate heart and I’m under a new moon.” Uber-intellectual indie rockers take note: It’s OK to wear your heart on your sleeve every now and then.

It’s hard to pick a favorite among the infectious tunes; I just felt privileged to be one of the few in attendance for what felt like a private concert. Gentleman Auction House is supposedly coming back to town before too long, and the band’s full-length, Alphabet Graveyard, hits shelves July 22. I’ll be paying close attention to these guys in the coming months. You should too.

mp3: Gentleman Auction House - The Book of Matches