The Delgados (Bimbo's, 4 November 2004)

Beer Rating: 2 Beers

The Delgados are one of those bands that have not gained the hype that they so readily deserve. While most Scottish bands have been basking in the limelight and have gained a solid base of fans (see Belle and Sebastian, Franz Ferdinand, and Mogwai), it seems like the Delgados are content with their low key presence in the Scottish music scene. Instead of churning out the hype machine, they continue to make fantastic songs and release solid albums year after year. Their recent release, Universal Audio, continues that trend that started 7 years ago with Domestiques (see Universal Audio review below).

Last night, the Delgados continued their low key attitude by playing a low key show at Bimbo’s. Unlike their more popular counterparts, the show was not sold out and an overwhelming majority of the crowd were true Delgados fans. This was made apparent by everyone around me (except for two guys) singing or humming to each song they played. There were some playful hecklers, which Stewart, Emma, Paul, and Alun were very entertained with. There were also several mentions of the election, with Stewart dedicating "Hate" to our current commander-in-thief and a fan, responding to Emma saying "we’ve been watching a lot of horror movies lately," saying "the election?" Of course, Emma acknowledged, "there’s really no way I can top that response, can I?" Emma also showed her love to the crowd by proclaiming San Francisco’s Bimbo’s to be her "most favorite venue" to play in (so much so that she wanted to do the entire set over again). Alun proclaimed his love for wine, while Emma matched it by saying that she loves Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

The band were spot on with their songs. Tight musicianship is always a nice thing to see and hear, especially in a venue as intimate as Bimbo’s. Despite their fey appearance, the Delgados rocked hard. Songs like the new single "Everybody Come Down" and "Coming in From the Cold," although poppy, made the venue shiver and tremble. Of course, they played even louder with some other songs, but since I’m a horrible person when it comes to remembering track names, I’m not going to mention them here. I can hum them to you if you like.

Overall, it was an excellent show. Also, the crowd was really pleasant, a sheer joy to be with. There were no hippy chicks (see Interpol), no farters (see Concretes), and the Marina contingency were kept at a minimum. It would have received an almost perfect rating if they played more songs. Well, I’ll be seeing them two more times, so we shall see.