The Dears @Bowery Ballroom, May 4th

I loved The Dears something fierce a few years ago. Their stellar album, No Cities Left, was one of my favorite CDs to play in 2005, and still remains a classic to me. Thanks to The Music Slut, I was able to attend this show, older and wiser, and perhaps more weary, too.

The magnetic frontman, Murray Lightburn, started off the show with a stirring vocal hymnal, slowing winding his way from the back of the room to the stage, which was shrouded in darkness. From there, they played a set which drew upon many familiar tunes from the aforementioned No Cities Left as well as their follow up, Gang of Losers. They also played newer material from a new release. Unfortunately, the show felt very disjointed to me, and what I once adored about their music -- the moody quality -- perhaps only added to the sense of discombobulation.

And, while no fault of the band, I was further frustrated by so-called fans who talked at great length during the show while they were standing right fucking up front! Geez Louise! You'd think people who bothered learning all the lyrics to a band's repertoire (and trust me, they did sing along) would fucking shut up and respect the musicians above them. This one couple, in particular, raised my ire, when they had the nerve to grab the setlist even before the show was over with a few songs still to go. I had to admonish them out of a sense of outrage, and only then did they begrudgingly replace the setlist. Oh, the sense of entitlement these twats had! Yes, The Dears were clearly here to play for just you, and no one else!

Oh well, the magic The Dears once held for me was already kind of over by that point. At least they did close with my favorite track, "22: The Death Of All The Romance." Yes, truly the death indeed.