Beer in the Hand/ Beer in the Face: Concert Edition

A beer in the hand for a job well done

A beer in the face for the ultimate punishment

Time for another round of America's favorite game--Beer in the Hand or Beer in the Face?

I caught the Charli XCX concert last night at Brighton Music Hall. Magic Man and St. Lucia were the supporting acts--here is how they rated:

Beer in the Hand to:  EVERY ACT! Genuinely one of the best top-to-bottom concerts I have been to in  long while.

Beer in the Hand to: Magic Man. This band was truly a cut above the typical opening acts AND they are named after a Heart song (okay, I made that up.. but it might be true). I was completely unfamiliar with their music before seeing them (I think that was the general sentiment) but they made a fan out of me from sheer stage presence. The lead singer rocks a Morrissey-inspired pompadour and freaks out on stage like Morrissey freaks out on carnivores. I'm fairly certain that all of the members of this group took a turn on the communal snare drum placed center-stage, which was a nice touch. The energy was through the roof.  This indie-rock/dance collective is akin to Ra Ra Riot, so be on the lookout to hear one of their tracks on a Honda commercial in the near future.


OFFICIAL BEER IN THE HAND™ DRUNKEN UNCLE CO-SIGN to: St. Lucia. Fuck me. What a great set. Magic Man really set the bar high for performances and St. Lucia was more than up for the challenge. Simply brilliant. The 80's revivalist movement has created an overwhelming amount of acts vying to glean the best parts of the cocaine decade in hopes of constructing dance-pop gold, but none do it better than St. Lucia. Their performance was incredibly entertaining (a fuckin' saxophone?!) and they knew how to work a room. The coldest of beers in the hand, sirs and madame.


Beer in the Hand to: Charli XCX. Or, perhaps more appropriately.....

Beer in the Hand to: Charli XCX's swag. She had a great demeanor on stage--an engaging mix of humble charm and over-the-top charisma. 

Beer in the Hand to: Charli XCX's outfit. 'Twas a glorious matching of a white tank top from Mariah Carey's closet circa 1995, gold-striped zebra stretch pants and moon boots. To top it off, she donned a cross necklace that I'm confident she got for free for attending Vacation Bible School. 

No beers in the face! What a glorious accomplishment!