In the weeks leading up to this show I couldn?t shake a certain lingering feeling of uneasiness. I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt but somehow, somehow I knew Liars were going to make me regret parting ways with my 20 dollars. If you watch the music video accompaniments to 2006?s Drum?s Not Dead you?ll notice that most of the live footage videos suck shit. The band always seems to have a hard time creating a stage presence that reflects their music. When I listen to the hauntingly cerebral Drum?s Not Dead I hope for the kind of stage show that would really impress say, a stonemason or maybe a sunn0))) fan. Instead I get three goofily dressed guys, never quite moving as a unit, barely trying to make their longwinded and wanky drum arrangements not seem like one big, exaggerated, hour long yawn. After a while each song just seemed to bleed into the next and the crowd was very clearly divided between keeners and ?don?t give a fucks.? To their credit, the band executed seamless versions of ?Be Quiet Mt. Heart Attack? and ?Visit From Drum? but for most of their set I was sadly unenthused. I would have been really down & out had The Apes not melted my brain with a rambunctious rock extravaganza earlier in the night.

Call it stealing the show. When I arrived at Richard?s the floor was completely empty. Out of nowhere a lone figure in an ape mask and red skirt approached the mic and very charismatically (in a distorted voice) encouraged people to approach the stage and ?establish intimacy.? She then proceeded to offer hugs to the audience and at least 6 people formed a line. While all this was going on the band had made their way on stage and Amanda Kleinman took off her ape mask with the built-in vocorder and made her way to her keyboard. The band wasted no time blasting into a riveting set, and one song was all it took for the floor to fill out.

These guys totally have their shit down. They don?t skimp you on energy, showmanship, or charm. Each one of them had their own stylish grace: Erick Jackson (bass) moved with the spidery agility of a young Mick Jagger, Amanda Kleinman ran aerobics in front of her keyboard stopping only to arch her back like a reluctant child at bath time, Lucius Twilight (recent addition to the band) bobbed rhythmically while he paced the stage, and Jeff Schmid went all Fred Durst on his drums. It was quite a sight.

It was a shame about Liars but they haven?t exactly chosen a style conducive to live performance. But wait, maybe that?s the point...oh art, will I ever understand you?