
I quickly glanced down and typed the words, “Get Real,” into my cell phone.
Not long after I finished, I felt instant pressure being applied to the back of my phone.
“What the …?” I thought to myself.
I looked up and saw the clear heel of Caroline Polachek’s white plastic boot tapping my phone.
The Chairlift frontwoman nonverbally scolded me for being in the phone zone and not watching her band’s performance of “Get Real” on Monday at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor, Mich. I was standing at the front right corner of the stage, so I should’ve known I wasn’t anonymous.
I laughingly put my cell phone in my brown leather purse while she twirled to the other side of the stage. I made eye contact with two of my friends, Matt and Nick, who chuckled while witnessing Polachek bust me for violating concert etiquette.
What Polachek didn’t know was that I had been taking notes in my phone about Chairlift’s performance for this blog post. She probably thought I was texting a friend or scanning my Facebook news feed. If I were her, I would’ve thought the same thing.
Caroline, If you’re reading this post, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to be rude.
I highly enjoyed Chairlift’s energetic performance and wanted to capture the thought before it evaporated from my mind.
It’s one of those moments where you feel like you’re in a “Seinfeld” episode, so you have to laugh about it. I often joke with my friends that I’m a walking comedy routine. I somehow seem to catch people’s attention, whether I want it or not.
Comedy routine aside, Chairlift played a solid hour-long performance at one of Ann Arbor’s smallest live music clubs. Polachek and bandmate Patrick Wimberly stopped by the college town to promote and play tracks from their latest album, “Moth,” which is their most commercially appealing and solid work to date.
The synthpop duo mesmerized an audience of twentysomethings with a 14-song danceable setlist that included nine songs from “Moth” as well as three tracks from “Something,” a new track, “Get Real,” and “Bruises” from “Does You Inspire You?”
Wearing a white sheer crop top with slit sleeves, a black bra, white shorts, black tights and plastic white boots, Polachek swayed and twirled throughout the show in between flashing colored spotlights.
Hiding somewhat in the dark, Polachek had transformed herself into a black and white moth in preparation for Chairlift’s performance. Her long, flowing slit sleeves resembled wings and fluttered to the beat in a fashion similar to Stevie Nicks.
The white-sleeved wings paused after Chairlift finished “Polymorphing,” and Polachek enthusiastically addressed the crowd.
“You guys are saucy tonight,” she said.
Saucy, we were indeed. Chairlift’s lively setlist openers of “Look Up” and “Polymorphing” pumped us up, and we wanted more.
Polachek instantly picked up the crowd’s vibe and asked the Blind Pig crew to remove two monitors in front of the stage after “Sidewalk Safari” so she could get closer to the fans.
The fans responded with emphatic cheers when Polachek danced at the edge stage during the rest of the show.
For me, Chairlift topped the night off with their catchy track, “Moth to the Flame,” which is backed by a funky disco beat. I grooved with the crowd as Polachek sang:
“As if feeling the same was the name of the game/The name of the game I shouldn’t be playing/I can’t help it/I’m a moth to a flame (He’s that kind of man, mama)”
We were the moth to Chairlift’s flame that night. We got “close enough” to feel the band’s energy, but only for fleeting moment before they flew away to the next show.
Luckily, I was one of the fans who got a little extra attention to boot.
One of my friends went to a Shakatak concert in London, and he has gotten to know the band members quite well; I have spoken with them on occasion, as he introduced me to them via social media. During one concert, the lead vocalist, Jill Saward, made faces at him as he was taping a clip of the concert onto his phone–a humorous but obvious reminder to remember the unspoken and spoken rules at concerts and not step too far out of bounds. After all, the reason they perform is so we all can enjoy their music. 🙂