Xiu's next

Finally it was time for those happy-go-lucky characters in Xiu Xiu. I had not heard much about them. Their music is rhythmically complex and emotionally tortured. They played a Joy Division cover (Ceremony) that I didn't recognize at the time - their style is quite distinct (or maybe my brain was just on one of its temporary vacations).



Ringleader Jamie Stewart.



Caralee McElroy and the ever-popular harmonium.



Ches Smith - them drumsticks is good eatin'.



Drumstick bouncing action!



Jamie gets down.



Ches does battle with cymbals.



Feedback action!



The whole lot!



An undeniably swell show, with lots of excited chatter from the crowd afterward.

• Show reminder: Amos The Transparent, Five Blank Pages and Dukes of the Archipelago play the Gallery at Ecclesiax; Million Dollar Marxists, fresh off their tour, perform at Babylon with Society's Parasites and The Suicide Pilots; Evil Farm Children and The Bible All-Stars play a post-Bluesfest show at the Navy Club; No Other Way, Ceremonial Snips, The Fucking Machines and Vanier Skank play Zaphod's; The Noble Son, Capital Grass and the No Men and Apples perform at the Avant-Garde Bar.