Belated Junior Boys Review

The other week I was able to catch the Junior Boys at the Metro just before their latest album, Begone Dull Care, was released last week. I was looking forward to hearing the new stuff live (and am still looking forward to hearing on record if Amazon will ever get it to me, though apparently I should stop buying from them because their computer systems hate gays or something; if only Insound didn't require a $50 purchase to get free shipping!).

Anyhoo, as expected, what I heard did not disappoint, because frankly Jeremy Greenspan could sing virtually anything in his smooth, breathy voice and it would sound great. They opened with "Hazel", clearly the most single-worthy of the new stuff, and debuted probably 6-7 new tracks overall, some of which were immediately enjoyable and others that I'm looking forward to spending more time with. The energy level on stage wasn't as high as it was in the crowd however, where in front of me a 6'5" man I've seen at several dance-oriented shows bounced around the room with such joy and vigor you almost got over the fact that you were stuck behind a 6'5" man at a concert.

Opening for the Junior Boys was the hilarious Max Tundra. I'd read about him and assumed he was some sort of down-tempo electronic artist for some reason, but I was completely off base as he was this crazy little twee electro-popper that bounced around the stage with his arms flailing whenever he had the chance. He told us he was selling kosher soup with his merchandise after the show (not a joke) and wrapped up his set with some sort of electronic version of "So Long, Farewell" from the Sound of Music. Based on his (albeit very entertaining) show, I got the impression his music was a bit of a novelty and couldn't imagine what it would sound like on record, something that runs counter to all the glowing reviews he's received over time. Apparently under all that sunny twee glow there is subject matter about stealing his best friend's girlfriend, then subsequently breaking up with said girlfriend. Intriguing.