Concert Mon Nov 09 2009

Review: Basement Jaxx at Congress Theater, 11/6

By Dan Morgridge

"This is going to be awesome."
"I hope they play the Ghostface song, I loved that one."
"I don't really know Basement Jaxx that well - I hope they're good."
"They were really big back in the day. It should be good."

This was the back-and-forth on Saturday night between a trio of crop-topped and dress shirted youngsters flecked with tastful glittery parts here and there who were seated behind me at El Cid as we all waited for the show to begin. Technically, it was nine and the show doors had already been open for two hours, but they and I (and from the outfits I saw across the restaurant, a multitude of others) had decided to get some margaritas in us rather than see the (presumably excellent) sets from the gals of Moneypenny (including Chess Hubbard of Life During Wartime) as well as fellow Life During Wartime/Only Children man-about-town Bald E. (Bald Eagle's answer to P. Diddy, perhaps).

One pitcher turned into two and three, and then some latecomers in our group topped it off for a fourth. We stumbled a few doors down into the Congress to find the lobby pretty well packed with people, and a DJ out there working a surprisingly active crowd. We delved further in to catch the end of Modeselektor's set. The floor was packed all the way to the rails - it's eady to forget that the Congress can hold 4,000 people until you see them before you in a sweaty, fist-pumping mass. Simon and Felix took the stage to a very warm crowd, and started into a set that leaned heavily on the bookends of their discography. Tracks from "Scars" appeared frequently, but they also brought out gems like "Red Alert" with none other than Vula Malinga to sing the hook herself. She stuck around as hype man for the rest of the night, making sure the sexy ladies were making some noise, and the sexy men were doing their best Arsenio Hall hoot-hoot-hoot. Space was tight, but pockets of dancing could be seen all over, and there was nary a bored chatterbox to be seen/heard. "Bohemian Rhapsody was even thrown in for good measure, and the crowd ate it all up. By the end of the set I was sweaty and danced out, so I made my way out, pleased even with the small portion of the evening I'd experienced. MSTRKRFT played next, and I was told they kept the party going for another two hours of Daft Punk and Justice-teasing energy.

(Kudos to anyone who lasted through the whole night - feel free to share any extra gems from the other sets in the comments.)