A certain section of the Des Moines population went home a little bit tousled and flushed after its first encounter with Detroit-based band, Electric Six at the Vaudeville Mews on Thursday night. Front man Dick Valentine pulled all the right moves and made it a memorable night that I’m pretty sure was as good for him as it was for us.
(Click on any of these pictures to go to the complete set on Flickr.)
North of Grand warmed up the crowd and once again made it look cool to be a bald guy with horn rim glasses.
As Valentine took the stage in a bright red cape draped over a bright purple cape, the audience moved up toward the stage in fervent expectation.
“Lover,” he crooned into the microphone a little self-consciously, “it takes a lot of guts to get up on stage knowing you’re going to be laughed at.” The band immediately erupted into a medley of “Flashy Man” and “Showtime.” Any laughter from the audience was accompanied by a firm appreciation for the music and it only took a couple of beats for the whole crowd to begin surging to the rhythm as one.
Some photographic highlights:
Concert companion extraordinaire, Christapolis recounts the setlist as follows:
Flashy Man / It’s Showtime!
Down at McDonnelzz
Dance Commander
She’s White
Gay Bar
Gay Bar Part Two
Dance Pattern
Dirty Ball
Dance Epidemic
Danger! High Voltage!
The Future Is In The Future
Improper Dancing
Synthesizer
I Buy The Drugs
Formula 409
Click here for a YouTube playlist of Electric Six’s videos:
Awesome photos, Kelli! It was truly a night to remember.