Los Campesinos! - Live @ Coachella 17/04/09 (EW Review)

Esta noche, a las 21, en La Trastienda - Buenos Aires

Los Campesinos! have the distinction of being the only band I can recall ever falling in love with instantly upon hearing the first seconds of the first song off their first album. Those opening strums of "Death to Los Campesinos!" still sound as good as they did in my stereo that fateful afternoon, and the group's fascinating stage presence only adds to the glee. They've all taken Campesinos! as their last name, so firsties only, please: Love the epic frustration of frontboy Gareth, whose face sometimes scrunches up like a baby before a bawl, and the placid calm of second vocalist Aleksandra, whose red hair blows delicately in the breeze above her keyboards. Love the way the entire pack of Welsh youngsters hollers out lines like "We kid ourselves there's future in the f---ing, but there is no f---ing future!" before setting back about their violins and glockenspiels and whatnot. "We started this band three years ago," said Gareth. "We didn't expect to be here. So to celebrate that, here is a song about how each and every one of us is going to die alone." Then he paused, and asked, "Can somebody turn the Hold Steady down, please?" I don't know why he thought that was necessary. Not even your Aunt Whittlz -- perhaps the most rehab-needing Hold Steady fan alive -- could hear the neighboring Brooklynites over the perfect clatter of the subsequent "Miserabilia." "You! Me! Dancing!" gave me the day's biggest emotional swell; set closer "Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks" wiped my tears away. Gareth ended it on top of the speaker tower, shouting "One blink for yes! Two blinks for no!" and by this point, I'd entirely forgotten my alleged favorite current band was 100 yards away, and that I was missing them. Los Campesinos! = THS methadone! Whitney Pastorek