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Pretty soon after I realized that everyone around me at Emo's waiting for Xiu Xiu was wearing Xs on their hands (due to being underage, not to rabid Xiu Xiu fan-dom), Jamie Stewart and Caralee McElroy took the stage as a trio, this time bringing a live drummer, Ches Smith (aka opening act Cong for Brums) in tow. The added momentum suited the material from their latest album, The Air Force, well, and gave a nice shot in the arm to crowd favorites like "I Luv the Valley OH!".

Stewart's voice was buried deeper in the mix than expected (judging from past encounters), leaving me to conclude that the night was about songs rather than edgy emoting. It was a welcome change at first, but what's a Xiu Xiu show without having to confront Stewart's vocals head-on? And what was up with his buzz cut?

Over in the adjoining room of Emo's, Serena Maneesh prompted a question of their own: where was Amazonian bassist Hilma Nikolaisen? Her presence was missed, though Norwegian psych/motorik/nu-gaze sextet wasted no time in barreling through the still-fresh material from their self-titled debut.

Frontman Emil Nikolaisen's vocals were mixed even further into oblivion than Jamie Stewart's had been, but I couldn't care less. Tommy Akerholdt's drums had already swept the music into a headlong frenzy that didn't really relent, save for some extended psych-noise treats and a rather dubby version of "Don't Come Down Here". By the end of the show, Nikolaisen's makeup had survived the Texas heat, but he still felt the need to don his sequined mic-stand dressing during the concluding freak-out of "Your Blood in Mine".

More Xiu Xiu and Serena Maneesh photos and tour dates below.

Xiu Xiu:

Serena Maneesh:

Xiu Xiu:

10-03 Tampa, FL - Transitions Art Gallery *#
10-04 Sarasota, FL - Sudakoff Convention Center (New College) *#
10-05 Gainesville, FL - Common Grounds *#
10-06 Atlanta, GA - Eyedrum *#
10-07 Charleston, SC - Map Room *#
10-09 Charlottesville, VA - Satellite Ballroom *#
10-10 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church *#
10-12 New York, NY - Mercury Lounge *#
10-13 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom *^
10-14 Cambridge, MA - Middle East *^
10-16 Buffalo, NY - Soundlab *^
10-17 Rochester, NY - Bugjar *^
10-19 Montreal, Quebec - La Sala Rossa *^
10-20 Toronto, Ontario - El Mocambo *^
10-21 Detroit, MI - Magic Stick *^
10-23 Columbus, OH - Little Brother's *^
10-24 Newport, KY - Southgate House *^
10-25 Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom *^
10-26 Gambier, OH - Horn Gallery *^
10-27 Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium *^
10-28 Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock *^
10-29 Fargo, ND - Aquarium *^
10-30 Winnipeg, Manitoba - WECC *^
11-02 Vancouver, British Columbia - Anza *^
11-03 Seattle, WA - Paradox *^
11-04 Portland, OR - Disjecta *^
11-05 Eugene, OR - WOW Hall *^%
11-07 Visalia, CA - Howie and Sons *^%
11-08 Goleta, CA - Hard to Find Showspace *^
11-09 Los Angeles, CA - Echo *^
11-10 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall *

* with Congs for Brums
# with BARR
^ with Dirty Projectors
% with Grouper

Serena Maneesh:

10-03 Chapel Hill, NC - Cat's Cradle ^%
10-04 Falls Church, VA - State Theater ^%
10-05 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church %+
10-06 New York, NY - Warsaw %+$ ^ with Evangelicals
% with Woven Hand
+ with Bardo Pond
$ with Dirty on Purpose