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Best Music Poll party 2005


"Have my babies," the teenage boy behind me kept yelling as the all-male Killers romped through their FNX/Boston Phoenix Best Music Poll celebration concert set of ’80s synth-pop and power-chord guitar rock a week ago Tuesday at Bank of America Pavilion. His ideas about biology might not be representative, but his musical taste was: the show sold out well in advance. The Pavilion bill also included Interpol, Louis XIV, and Robbers on High Street. And across town on the Lansdowne Street club strip, Avalon, Axis, and Bill’s Bar hosted a second BMP party. Bill’s flew the punk flag, with Sage Francis, Lost City Angels, and the Unseen. At Axis, Autolux, the Raveonettes, and Futureheads made for an eclectic line-up of out-of-towners. At Avalon, pop-inclined locals Averi and Dear Leader opened for nationals Kaiser Chiefs and the poll’s big home-town winners, the Dresden Dolls.

At the Pavilion, the Killers counteracted Interpol’s sleek chill with a cheery, cheeky high-energy performance. Frontman Brandon Flowers looked like a hip junior accountant in his jacket, tie, and white shirt, singing — without a trace of irony — "it’s indie rock and roll for me" from his major-label perch. Since their debut, Hot Fuss (Island), came out a little less than a year ago, the Killers have made serious hay with their blend of new wave and old sentiments. This night, they paid back the crowd by playing almost all of Hot Fuss and a new tune, "All the Pretty Faces," that didn’t stray from formula.

The concert’s big surprise was Louis XIV. On their debut, The Best Secrets Are Kept (Atlantic), the San Diego outfit come off like the Kinks with a T. Rex fetish. But live they offered big Who build-ups, including windmilling power chords from frontman Jason Hill, Led Zeppelin acoustic slide-guitar forays, and a guitar-and-organ trip into the sonic turf of Deep Purple.

Pavilion tickets were also good for admission at Lansdowne Street, though only Avalon was still offering live music by the time most 18-plus stub holders arrived. For many 18-, 19-, and 20-year-olds, this was their introduction to the Dresden Dolls. Singer-pianist Amanda Palmer and drummer Brian Viglione played a hard set of their cabaret rock, delivering stories of broken hearts and badly wired brains. It’s true that their piano-and-drums sound can be an acquired taste. "Is this the best thing they could find to end the night?" one young man in a baseball cap snorted before tossing his Coke in a trash can and leaving.

But Palmer and Viglione have what they need, as their 2004 Rumble victory and 2005 Best Music Poll wins for Live Act, Female Vocalist, and Album attest. Their highlights were the surprises. Viglione, playing acoustic guitar, and Palmer, sans piano, strode to the front of the stage to belt lines about the "whore of Amsterdam" with Brechtian gusto. And as they vamped on "Half Jack," a wraith-like female dancer covered in white powder took the stage behind them, convulsing and raising dusty clouds. Then she was gone, leaving the Dolls to conclude with a pounding "Girl Anachronism" — though the Best Music Poll voters obviously think this duo’s time is now.

BY TED DROZDOWSKI

Issue Date: June 17 - 23, 2005
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