By Jodi Root

Last night rocked the tightest squeeze of bodies in Chicago’s Empty Bottle in as long as I can remember. I couldn’t believe how full of a house it was—diverse as hell of a crowd, I thought maybe I had mistakenly gone to the wrong show. But nope—turns out I was in the right place, THE place—to check the lovely husband/wife duo beats of Dan Boeckner and Alexei Perry, better known as the Handsome Furs. The Furs brought the windy city a taste of their latest release, the fantabulous, electro-pop infused rockin’ Face Control.

While last evening’s set was a brief one, (a whopping nine songs prior to the encore), it was nowhere near forgettable. Thumping bass beats, digital key work and a backdrop of claps opened up the set with album opener “Legal Tender”—getting the indie kids quick to their feet right off the bat. Friendly, appreciative banter followed throughout the set, as several numbers from Face Control made their Chicago debut including “Talking Hotel Arbat Blues,” my personal fave “All We Want, Baby, Is Everything,” the 80’s-esque “Evangeline,” single “I’m Confused,” synthed up gem, “Nyet Spasiba” and album (and show) closer “Radio Kaliningrad.” Also accounted for was the Bowling Green dedicated “Handsome Furs Hate This City,” as well as a few other older tracks I didn’t recognize in the encore.

Boeckner damn right KILLED it with his guitar shredding, jerking and spazzing like no other while Perry frantically leapt and thrashed on her keys. I did notice that Boeckner’s vocals were taking a hit, as he started to sound a bit hoarse and scratchy on the yelp work, but the enthusiasm centered on the stage was still undeniably contagious. The hipster brigade ate this noise up quicker than you could say American Apparel—shit was bananas. Claustrophobia and fatigue got the best of me after this music packed weekend, and I admit that I ducked out during the encore a bit early. No regrets, however, as I fully intend on catching these Canadian dance machines in a more sunny and open space this next week in Austin, particularly at the Fader’s Thursday day set. If you’ll be representing at SXSW, def check this duo out.

I seriously witnessed the most appreciative roar of applause and approval from the crowd that I can recall in forever. The audience was literally losing their cool—prompting Boeckner and Perry to pronounce their appreciation and love for Chi, laughing that while NY, LA and Chi are the most intimidating U.S. stops, the difference is that they “don’t really care about the people judging” in LA, and in NY it’s “50/50,” whereas the people in Chicago are just “seriously really cool.” Well thanks, guys. We dug you too—come back anytime.

Buy: Handsome Furs – Face Control
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Myspace: Handsome Furs
MP3: Handsome Furs – “I’m Confused”