Thursday night I got to see an old favorite local band and my new favorite local band at the same show at Echoplex. How could I resist? Irving have been off the map a little bit, touring in Germany and dealing with replacing their bassist (as someone in the crowd yelled, "Stupid Seawolf!"), but they are one of the hardest working bands I know, and always put on a good show. So I was excited to hear they were playing with my new fave, Midnight Movies.

The Echoplex has morphed into a very comfortable, large open space, with lots of seats and a nice vibe; my first experience with the place was back before it was finished, (and wasn't it called Ex-Plex?), when Of Montreal made a body-glittered, gold-Speedoed appearance, and Irving opened. At that time, the place looked like a warehouse inside, with the only entrance on Glendale, underneath the bridge near Bright Spot. The bathrooms were in that corner as well, with curtains instead of stall doors. Fun!

I caught a Snowden show there after the place was finished, and was pretty impressed with the improvements, although the night was riddled with sound problems. (Twilight Sleep got the brunt of the shitty sound, but both bands were amazing that night.)

So anyway, Irving showed up with their good-looking new bassist (was it Sam Johnson? I didn't catch the name and, in true Irving fashion, their site doesn't mention it), and they proceeded to rock out with a new tightness bolstered by their constant touring. "If You Say Jump I Will Say No" is still my favorite, and crowd-pleasers were "Jen, Nothing Matters", "Situation", and "She's Not Shy". Even if danceable indie pop is not your thing, you can't listen to this band without dancing. At least a little. Even by yourself. The band played "Lovely, Like Her" for the first time in the U.S. as well, and it was a good addition to the set.

Afterwards Midnight Movies came out, stopped all residual ass-shaking, and instantly mesmerized the crowd. I had to laugh when a guy in front of me yelled at his friend, "They're very late 60s". You don't say?? With perfect 60s-era Marianne Faithful hair (albeit brown), Gena Olivier's deep voice cuts straight through the music, and her presence is almost shaman-like, especially in "Patient Eye" and "Two Years", with their ah-ah's like incantations.

Guitarist Larry Schemel (who may just be a doppelganger of Rohner Segnitz from Division Day), is equally intense. When he and Olivier switch between guitar and organ, or drummer Sandra Vu leaves the drums to Olivier and takes up the flute, their movements are trance-like and unsmiling. It would be overkill if they weren't so sincere about it. And Olivier's confidence falters a little when she does attempt to speak to the crowd, so perhaps it's best that they stay focused.

Even though Irving and Midnight Movies may seem like an odd pairing, I have to say I really enjoyed getting both shameless pop and shameless dark mood in one show. I left with a sense of balance and a nice new MM tee shirt.

Old school Irving photo via www.myspace.com/irving

Midnight Movies photos by Simone Snaith via her crappy cell phone