Making new couples happy to have someone to spoon and sway the night away, Luna staged a show for the hopeless Romantica in all of us. Singletons; however, were left to reconsider how hastily they ended their last relationship.
The New York four-piece (plus a guest keyboardist, who doubled as a videographer), delivered a set of quirky guitar pop songs that celebrate the sweet idiosyncrasies of relationships. They played a few from their latest album, Romantica, but a lot of old hits like “Pup Tent,” a tune that starts off with “sneaking a kiss from the fire escape/a little game of pup tent with a blanket and a broom.”
What keeps Luna from being sugary sweet is the edgy guitar playing by lead singer Dean Wareham and lead guitarist Sean Eden. The two appear to share a genuine affection for one another on and off stage, as Wareham teased Eden about his growing dependency on Shreddies.
Bassist Britta Phillips, who some may recognize as the pill-popping drummer in Satisfaction, seemed to be in her own little headspace. Playing a bass that looked like it weighed more than her, Phillips occasionally looked up from her blond wisps with an impish smirk, letting the almost all male crowd know that she was aware of their gawking presence. Even when she slinked up to the mic to lend backups in a couple of songs, including “Tiger Lily,” she was demure and somewhat detached. Despite her demeanour, Phillips’ voice was warm and inviting. Her honeyed vocal contribution contrasted harmoniously with Wareham’s voice, who at times sounded like a more nasal, less ornery Lou Reed.
Openers, a local instrumental band called The Secret Three were, in fact, four. They played digestible jazzy music with intermittent Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet undertones, proving to be a perfect prelude to the maestros of eccentric love songs.
Ending with three encores, Luna finally wrapped things up with a well-received cover of Fred Neil’s “everybody’s talking” from Midnight Cowboy. Apart from that, Luna played the same songs to much of the same crowd as the last time they were here and their loyal following didn’t seem to mind. Couples went home and tried new positions, while the rest of us went home in a lonely drunken stupor, fighting the urge to make that regrettable midnight call to an ex.
