8 - Wednesday, November 15, 2006 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com S 0 The French Kicks played a lackluster show for a lackluster turnout. Didn't get your.'Kicks'? INDIE GROUP STRUGGLES WITH COHERENT LIVE ACT By DEVIKA DAGA Daily Arts Writer You've probably never heard of the French Kicks, and neither has America. They've occa- sionally been mentioned in passing in the same French Kicks breath as The Strokes and The Libertines. They're Sunday pillars of the rock renais- At The Blind Pig sance - kind of. They're quite an exciting indie band, if you're into that scene, raising hairs and eyebrows and taking the country by storm - if they can get away with it. The French Kicks, in other words, are tee- tering on the edge of fame. Their last album, Two Thousand, sold twice as many copies as their sophomore release, Trial of the Century. The press, however, remains ambivalent, and with decent but not astounding record sales, the Kicks can only try to entice a following live on stage. Sunday night at The Blind Pig, though, the band left much to be desired. If they set out to seduce an audience, their performance was alarmingly cold. Leading the charge onstage without so much as a "Heyhowzitgoing," the lanky Nick Stumpf fuel a performance, and by mid-set, the Kicks looked the part of a frontman, decked out in had fallen into something of a rut, playing the Chucks and a sly grin. His slack-jawed vocal part of a drained touring act to a tee. Indeed, stylings buried deep in the mix, he slurred his the band's inability to excite the audience - or words, singing like he was constantly sucking draw in a crowd, period - speaks volumes back streams of drool into his mouth. With to their continued status as a fledgling indie his head tilted back and spine straightened at band. attention, Stumpf looked like a less-soused ver- Of their last three headlining shows, the sion of Robert Pollard and was by far the focal Kicks haven't managed to bring in more than point of the performance. 40 people - and according to many concertgo- As a whole, the Kicks' arrangements were ers, their performances have been disappoint- tight and allowed to loosen in places, and yet ing to say the least. there were very few moments that added to At The Blind Pig, for example, the crowd was the prowess of their studio recordings. Espe- left stunned when the band abruptly ended cially with stronger tracks like "Knee High" their show out of what seemed to be sheer and "The Falls," it would have been nice to frustration: With a final strum of the guitar, see those guys stretch out a little more and see Strumpf said goodbye, lights went out and the where they could take these tunes. Instead, audience exited - perhaps all too quickly. most renditions were far too faithful and the But on tour with OK Go!, the band has man- set lacked variety. aged to pull in a following, but probably by The only true swerve of the Kicks' perfor- default. mance was the guitar histrionics of Josh Wise. Sans encore and tres blase, the Kicks' per- While his detached demeanor made him seem formance Sunday night did nothing more than less like The Edge and more like a member of reassert their middling status. the custodial staff, there's no denying the influ- Perhaps the frigid Michigan air left the band ence when he laid on the reverb and the drama stiff come time to perform, but unfortunately in "Cloche." excuses are of no merit when a reputation is at Still, it takes more than a few dapper licks to stake. S 0 For just $40 a month and no contract, you can talk anytime and never run out of minutes. Cool phones, state-of-the-art network, and all the calls you can make. Including long distance. www.metropcs.com Ann Arbor 4860 Washtenaw Ave. Ann Arbor, MI 48108 734-444-0521 Clinton Twp. 40779 Garfield Rd. Clinton Twp., MI 48038 734-444-0591 Dearborn 22805 Michigan Ave. Dearborn, MI 48124 734-444-0511 Detroit Woodward/Philadelphia 8532-40 Woodward Detroit, MI 48202 734-444-0541 metroPCS. Permission to speak freely. 8 Mile & Gratiot 15405 Gratiot #300 Detroit, MI 48205 734-444-0551 Mexican Town 7428-36 W. Vernor Detroit, MI 48209 734-444-0581 Hazel Park 23031 John R Rd. Hazel Park, MI 48030 734-444-0571 Livonia 29233 6 Mile Rd. Livonia, MI 48152 734-444-0811 888.8metro8 Lathrup Village 27620 Southfield Rd. Lathrup Village, MI 48076 734-444-0561 Pontiac Galloway Plaza 1618 N. Perry St. Pontiac, MI 48340 734-444-0531 Taylor 23013 Eureka Rd. Taylor, MI 48180 734-444-0601 e To find a store near you, call 888-8metro8 or visit us online at metropcs.com. Select phone models may vary by store. Visit www.metropcs.com for information on specific terms and conditions of service and local coverage area. Nationwide long distance applies to the 48 contiguous states only. Taxes and fees not included. Some restrictions apply. See store for details.