Feature by Kathie Smith: When it comes to new bands, spontaneous ticket buying hasn’t always worked to my advantage. Nevertheless, back in August, when InRO's fearless leader Sam C. Mac went on about the allure of new band The xx, I happened to notice the group were booked to open a set for the Friendly Fires at the end of November and I impulsively snatched up a ticket. Then I got distracted and forgot all about it. Months later, it was announced the show was sold out, and I initially cursed myself for missing the opportunity before remembering my earlier spontaneity (which it turns out paid off, this time). In the interim, the xx blew up, becoming one of the hottest acts of '09, injecting into the indie-rock scene their brand of slick, minimal pop, and with it some tongue-clicking controversy—after reportedly playing “approximately” 300 gigs at CMJ, they canceled a few shows and lost a member due to “exhaustion.”

The Triple Rock venue is a small catchall club that hosts just about any kind of band fitting under the broad designation of rock. It’s a self-service joint where you stand alongside band members at the bar buying cheap PBR before they scurry on stage to facilitate the breakdown and setup of their own equipment.

I arrive shortly after doors open, ready to see a line for the highly anticipated openers. The first Surprise: there is no line; the second: there's two massive tour buses parked outside that stretch far beyond the length of the club. Once inside the Triple Rock, I notice that stage right has been sectioned-off with the sign “staff only”; it's clear the xx have no intention of making use of the Triple Rock’s modest facilities or PBRs and instead plan to stay on their bus until show time. Most of the equipment for both bands has already been set up; the xx's gear is crowded to one side of the stage and the Friendly Fires' to the other.

Start time is listed as 9pm for the xx and 10pm for the Friendly Fires, and as the clock edges closer to nine, one of the band’s crew members puts out a set list and tunes the guitars. Behind me, a freelance photographer for Spin works out possible angles to shoot the band from. Finally, the lights go down and the xx trio quietly take to the stage. Decked out in all black, the band, visibly serious and focused, are not so much somber as they are low-key, with very little expression or acknowledgment of the audience. Given their age and the chaos that has surrounded them in the past few months, it's hard not to read things into their subdued demeanor.

Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim stand in place at the edge of the stage, while Jamie Smith situates himself behind them with his synthesizer and keyboard set up on two box stands, each lit up by the band's eponymous letters. The lighting at the Triple Rock is never very spectacular, but in this case the lack thereof is absurd: whether by accident or design, the three members are almost entirely shrouded in darkness, excepting when Sim moves up to the mic and catches the edge of a spotlight.

The xx roll into “Intro” and then straight into “VCR,” the first two tracks off their sorta-self-titled album, xx. The band don’t exactly have a new sound, but it is fresh; the atmospheric and languid vocals traded between Croft and Sims have a dreamy and bittersweet tenor that pulls you in immediately. Listening to the songs live, I realize to what degree the xx wear their hearts on their sleeves—“Shelter” nearly breaks your heart with its candidness. Four songs into their set I begin to think how good the band sound considering they just lost a member; and no sooner does that thought cross my mind then Sim steps up to the mic, addressing the audience for the first time: “We only recently became a three piece, so we might fuck this one up.”

The song Sim is reluctant about performing is lead single “Crystalised,” which prominently showcases the duel guitars of Croft and now x-xx member Baria Qureshi. Sure enough, they start the song only to stop and have to restart. There's no improvising here, but once they get started it sounds better than most live renditions of songs do. They float through eight cuts, ending their very short 40-minute set with “Infinity,” a finale that features Sims working his way into a personal moment of catharsis, banging away at a symbol. And then, poof—they were gone. Back on the bus, probably, prepping for the next in a series of seemingly endless gigs.

About a third of the crowd leaves while The Friendly Fires spread their gear out across the stage. My introduction to the headliner's had come only a couple hours ago, as I lingered on their MySpace page and sampled their music. The dance-rock songs sounded good to me, and I expect theirs to be a good set. What I'm not prepared for, however, is to see the band arrive on stage like a crazed three-man party: As soon as drummer Jack Savidge starts banging out the beats, lead singer Ed MacFarlane gyrates all over the place, cutting a rug like nobody’s business. For a moment, everyone, who'd just been lulled into a state of tranquility by the xx, finds themselves understandably in shock.

The Friendly Fires’ energy is somewhat lost on me as someone not familiar with their songs, and by the end they leave me feeling worn out. But I am left with a lasting impression of The xx. It's hard to guess what the future holds for this young band—and their concise set yielded little clues—but I hardly see them burning out or fading away any time soon. One thing is clear if you have looked at The xx’s tour schedule for the next few months: the three members left are not daunted by exhaustion. Literally hours before the sold out show at the Triple Rock, it was announced that The xx would be back in the Twin Cities in April, at a slightly larger and nicer venue and as headliners this time, with the opening act set to be equally mysterious Swedish popsmiths jj—yet another ticket that will be hard to pass up.

Feature By:
Kathie Smith