When I was a kid and would go to shows, I would see the older-looking bald fat guy and think to myself “Rock on, old fat guy.” Now, I’m the older-looking bald fat guy. In a room full of people indulging in their first all ages shows, I stand out a bit. Sometimes I think about it. Sometimes I forget about it. That is until some be-mohawked youth points to the pit beyond me and says “Mind if I cut through, sir?” Polite punks, these.

And so it was Friday at The Basement with The Antlers and Phantogram playing. In keeping with my old fat guy role, I picked out some real estate at the top of the stairs behind the railing. To my left and slightly to the front standing on the steps were three people who had come from out of town to see Phantogram. After chatting for a few about the bands (they had never heard of The Antlers but love them some Phantogram), and watching Josh and Sarah (the duo who when paired create the dismal disco stylings I love) struggle to hang a sheet behind them on which to project their film clips, the lights finally dimmed and they begin to play.

My new “friends” scream loudly and start dancing with abandon in a way that lets everyone know they’re a bigger fan than you. I get caught up in it a bit too. Phantogram is good. Really good. Their album Eyelid Movies is solid, but live they take it up a notch in a way that makes me wish they’d pushed harder in the studio. It’s dance music for depressives, and I thought they were fantastic. And, they were right…the sheet was a nice touch for their projections. Heads were bobbing and I saw a lot of people around me who had no idea who this duo was start to fall in love. And then, that’s when it hit.

The stench was really impressive. One moment I’m in bliss, the next moment I’m breathing in someone’s lower intestinal tract. I leaned against one of the many support beams that block the view of the stage and place the back of my hand against my nose. The girl dancing to my left stops cold, and immediately covers her face. It took a song and a half for it to drift away. The guy pogoing in front of us, whom we all held responsible, never stopped once.

So, let this be a lesson to the kids. If you’re maybe not feeling your best, you aint got to dance. Sometimes it’s OK just to stand there and soak it all in. Please. Just stand there.

Thankfully, the trio didn’t know The Antlers and didn’t want to know them. They left right after Phatogram’s set never to be smelled again.

I caught The Antlers a couple months ago up in Akron thinking a Columbus show wasn’t very likely. They were strong both times, but I think a bit more dynamic this time around. “Two”, a long-winded tune finally found its legs as a live song for me, and Peter’s voice seemed to just get stronger as the night went on. There were times during the set that the crowd’s silence approached reverence, something that is hard to come by in this town.

I can’t help but thinking they’d like some new songs to play though. It’s time.

Concert farting needs to be stopped. I was in line for a beer at the Newport during the Temper Trap show and somebody gassed the place. It quickly becomes a game of "I swear, it wasn't me" with everybody laughing and then looking around for the offender.

Photos: http://www.donewaiting.com/2010/04/19/p ... -columbus/

During Antlers there was another heavy gasser in my area of the pit. Happened 2 or 3 times. Horrendous.

Ugh, from the photos it looks like The Basement was packed. Hate that place when it's packed.

Yeah, it was. I never saw Phantogram's faces till the set was over.

I was kinda shocked by how many people apparently are into those bands now. And how young the crowd was.

Yeah - Really young. Maybe I wouldn't have felt so old (I'm not that old) if they hadn't been so young.

My daughter loves this band. She's 9 years old. This and the gassing all make perfect sense to me, for some reason. Oh, look out, you rock and rollers...

seemed like the young kids were there pretty much for Phantogram. They fit nicely with that electro-synth stuff that super popular now (phoenix, passion pit, etc...)

farting is better than the kid who completely collapsed at my feet. I hope that dude was all right. Not sure if it was just booze, but he didn't look so hot laying on the floor.

I would have loved to have gone to this show and had planned on it up until the week before when I found out that Broken Social Scene and Ghostface Killah were coming here. There were a lot of big conflicts over the last couple weeks here. Thanks for the review though. While I'm glad I didn't miss BSS, it would have been nice to see The Antlers again and Phantogram for the first time.

We've got a couple more of these Electraplay sessions already in the can, can't wait for everyone to see them.