Let Your Freak Flag Fly

These guys are on my wife's list. You know, that list married couples have of theoretical celebrity get-out-of-jail-free one night stands? All married couples have these lists and I'm pretty sure Bret and Jemaine are on my wife's list. Obviously she likes pale nerdy foreign guys because after all, she married me. Actually these boys are so adorable they might be on my list too right in between Jenny Agutter and Naomi Watts. I digress.

We all fell in love with Flight of the Conchords when their (probably award winning) programme (sic) appeared on HBO. The show and accompanying songs were charming, quirky and of course, very funny. They were also very musically savvy, with spot-on homages/parodies of French pop, Marvin Gaye, Kraftwerk and white boy rap in general, taking things to another level. They were intoxicating. And now, they're back with more.

The soundtrack to season 2 is called I Told You I Was Freaky and really, this is more of the same from the lads. We aren't treated to a Plastic Ono Band-esque peeling of the onion here but a continuation of the vulnerable, lovable, side-splitting stuff from season 1. But isn't that what we wanted?

FOTC are at their best when they are in faux-seduction mode (like “Ladies of the World” from season 1), and here we have several romantic beauties - “We're Both in Love With a Sexy Lady," "You Don't Have to Be a Prostitute" and the fab title track. Probable Pet Shop Boys take-off “Fashion Is Danger” is a winner and I'm fairly sure that "Sugalumps" is about nuts. My “jam” (sic) on the set is "Too Many Dicks (On the Dance Floor)," a close-to-genius ode to poor male/female ratio in the clubs. Gorgeous.

Overall, this is another terrific album which you need to own if you're a fan. If you're not a fan, then watch the show (it's on DVD), become a fan and then buy the album. Seriously, these guys are the best thing out there since they canceled Yacht Rock on channel 101.

--Ben Sumner

Flight of the Conchords at Red Rocks 16 May 2009

A par for the course magical evening at Red Rocks, slightly marred by lots of people who made me feel old and overly sober. What are they all doing out on a school night, anyway? OK, so it was a Saturday, but still you see my point. Apparently, lots of tweens and so forth are able to look up from their sexting activity long enough to turn on their Television sets and tune in to Flight of the Conchords on HBO. And apparently, there are several youthful types who like indie-folk godhead Iron & Wine, too. Must have downloaded it on one of the internets or on their "I-pod" or some such thing. Seriously though, is it TWICE as illegal to be underage and inhale an outlawed substance? Food for thought.

Despite my apparent fogey status, I too enjoyed the delightfully hirsute singer-songwriter Iron & Wine, real name Samuel Beam. Reminded me a little of Phil Ochs, or perhaps a male Buffy Sainte-Marie. Too arcane a reference for you? Well, I can assure you that Mr. Beam has heard of them. It is entirely possible that I will walk into an actual record shop and purchase an actual three-dimensional CD by this talented chap. Wow, are they making vinyl again? How about that. Where was I? OK, next up was Dave. He told some off-color jokes which we all laughed at, because the sweet twilight hour was upon us, and things were getting that way. No, he was quite excellent and segued perfectly into the headlining act; "FOTC." It was their explicable Antipodean charm that had caught the attention of my wife who then decided to drag me out to the middle of nowhere for all of this. And, I am very glad she did, because it was a lot better than the time she made me sit through that Beck concert, me thinking it was going to be Jeff Beck. No, really, these boys have something going on. They opened up in a very theatrical manner, vaguely reminiscent of Starlight Express or early Genesis, but without all of the complicated chord changes and rollerskates. The rest of the concert, however, was mostly stripped back, with lots of commentary and chuckles. It all came over very well, and despite some questionable language, they had some lovely tunes which everyone seemed to enjoy very much. Really, though, must we swear so? Apparently we must. At this point, I started feeling a little sleepy so I had to wonder why everyone has to stand up the whole time. I mean, can't we all just sit back and listen? Anyway, I would certainly recommend these boys to anyone who likes hearing real music played by real musicians. I might even try and catch the show on TV, although I don't have a TIVO thing on my VCR, so I'll have to stay up to 10 O'clock and actually watch it at the time they chose to show it.

Also, it was a tad on the chilly side.

- Ben Sumner