Every so often, Bay area music lovers are treated to a night where there are two equally good concerts taking place at the same time. This means making a choice between two bands you’ve waited to see live and that you admire equally. Part of me hates the feeling; I mean, we get relatively few nationally-renowned acts in this area. I should just be glad that they’re coming to Florida at all, make my choice, and be happy with it. But then there’s the part of me that thrives off the excitement of trying to choose: listening to songs from each band, watching online videos of their live sets, and of course, talking to friends to see what they’re most excited about.
This Friday is that kind of night.
You probably already know that Arctic Monkeys are playing at the Ritz Ybor. Most of us are familiar with their story: British youngsters burst onto the scene with award-winning album that kicks ass. British punk-pop starts cropping up on the music charts with fan enthusiasm not seen in years. Everyone from hipster to frat boy is singing along to their catchy, high-energy songs, and Arctic Monkeys see heavy airplay at stores like American Eagle and Hollister. Oh, and of course, the pickup line “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor” makes a comeback nationwide.
What you might not know is El Ten Eleven is playing at The Orpheum at the same time. El Ten Eleven [pictured, photo by Michael Klayman] has mostly been known in the past as an instrumental post-rock duo that puts on phenomenal live shows. They’ve changed up their sound considerably with their newest album, These Promises Are Being Videotaped, and now have incorporated an electro-dance style that is seriously catchy. What’s really cool about El Ten Eleven is that they create their songs by looping their music live as it's played; no computers, no pre-recorded material, no keyboards. It’s technically mindblowing to think of this level of sound coming live from two people. Maybe these videos after the jump will help to influence your decision:
This article appears in Mar 31 – Apr 6, 2010.