You & me & Hamilton Leithauser makes three

The Walkmen @ 9:30 Club - September 22, 2009 - $15

Hamilton Leithauser and I are pretty tight. See? Here we are hanging out after last night's show. Don't pay any attention to that sneer he's throwing my way while I'm not looking. That's just good ol' Ham. What kind of a name is Hamilton Leithauser, anyway? Sounds like a power tool company, or a place you'd go to buy a massive tractor or specialty aircraft.

Either way, this guy who used to cruise the hallways of DC's St. Alban's prep school, has graduated to front the NYC/Philly rock fivesome, The Walkmen. During the set I actually thought to myself that he appeared kinda tall. It's always hard to tell though. Everyone looks taller when they're on a stage, on TV, or when standing next to sacklunch. But now I know he's kinda tall, since I'm kinda tall, and here we are looking to be about the same height. This is fascinating stuff, huh?

Since we got to the venue a bit on the tardy-side, we missed any good banter that may have been offered at the outset. Stuff like, "It's great to be back in DC where I have $250 of unpaid parking tickets." You know, something only a former resident could say. Actually, there was a bit of banter I remember hearing toward the end of the show. Something about Mr. Leithauser losing the keys to their car. This was probably why he was still standing outside as Jimbromski and I left the club. Maybe we should have offered him a ride.

Mr. & Mrs. sacklunch had stopped by the rock clubhouse after Mrs. sacklunch's birthday dinner earlier in the evening. Lots of talk about the Lake Braddock High School reunion ensued, and before I knew it, Jimbromski and I were late to the show. I think we caught 4 songs before The Walkmen departed the stage for their pre-encore piss break. There was a nice crowd at the 9:30 club for a Wednesday, probably the perfect number of people. Crowded enough to show some love, but just enough space for easy access to the upstairs bar with room for a view down to the stage.

Here's a couple of clips from the show from our upstairs perch:

Jimbromski loves himself some Rat. Not to be confused with RATT (I don't know how he feels about them). But when it came around to the lyrics,

"When I used to go out I'd know everyone I saw
Now I go out alone if I go out at all,"

I thought I saw a tear in his eye. He's such a softy. Anyhow, The Walkmen put on a solid show (at least the 40 mins that we saw). The guy playing the triangle was especially good. Never seen it played with as much enthusiasm as that dude did. I don't know what you were doing last night, but if you were at the Nationals game instead of being at the 9:30 club, I think you suck.

I know that it's true - it's gonna be a good year

It's the last Tuesday of 2008.

So how 'bout a clip about the new year... this one courtesy of The Walkmen's 2008 release, You & Me .