Review/Photos: Handsome Furs at Johnny Brenda's in Philadelphia; 07.09.2009

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How do you know two people are in love? When they perform in front of hundreds of patrons and they cannot take their eyes off each other.

Husband-and-wife duo Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry, of the Handsome Furs, celebrated their second wedding anniversary in beer-soaked style, playing in front of a delirious and congratulatory crowd at Johnny Brenda’s in Philadelphia on Thursday night.  The tiny slice of elevated flooring that makes up the bar’s stage was nestled inside an insulation of warm bodies that were dancing and shaking to the Furs’ dance-rock love party.  If the two greatest musical inspirations in the history of mankind are love and heartbreak, Thursday night was a celebration of the former, as the couple danced, sang, and flirted their hearts out on the eve of their anniversary.

Opening things up with “Legal Tender”, the opening track off of this year’s release, Face Control, the two sprawled into a flurry of cuts off that album that included “Evangeline”, “Passport Kontrol”, “All We Want, Baby, Is Everything”, and “Radio Kiliningrad”, each one with obsessive precision.  And when the clock struck midnight (or, more precisely, five minutes after), Perry seized her husband and landed a long, wet kiss on his lips, much to the deafening ovation of the small crowd.  An encore shortly followed (for both the kiss and for the performance), tying together nicely a night of sweat, dance and romance.

I recently saw a show by The Kills, another band that relies on drum machines, and noted to myself how much the lack of a drummer left a void in their live show.  The Handsome Furs somehow avoid this, and I’m not sure how.  It could be because these songs are more guitar-driven than the very rhythmic Kills, or perhaps I was too distracted by Perry’s constant foot-stomping, her convulsive drops onto the stage floor, and her glowing green bra straps under a flickering black light.  But these two left no desire unfulfilled, visually as well as sonically.

It could also be that Johnny Brenda’s, which has never failed me before, is just the perfect little nook – the ideal dark, cozy cave – for a celebration.  Where else could Perry emerge from backstage during one of the opening acts, give some high fives, and slyly disappear into the crowd chameleon-like, just another dry mouth with a whistle to whet.

It’s hard to remember a time that I’ve witnessed a couple of performers so eager to play with each other, let alone for the crowd.  That kind of genuine zeal really gets a crowd energized, and Johnny Brenda’s floors were literally bucking at points in the show.  Needless to say, everyone went home happy, and maybe even a little bit more loved.  It was just a warm night.