Cut Copy's CD Bright Like Neon Love makes us smile and dance like no other CD we own. We haven't taken a shine to an upbeat electro-pop band like this since Tahiti 80. Their bio describes theirs as a "sound that references 70’s rock staples like ELO and Fleetwood Mac, late 80’s/early 90’s indie like Sonic Youth and Guided By Voices, the disco production of Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards, post-punk and French house." Fans of the Postal Service take note: Cut Copy makes our rock n' roll heart want to dance.

Cut Copy was the first of two openers for Franz Ferdinand last Thursday at the Bill Graham Civic Center. We've managed to avoid the BGCC before now, and we're glad we did. It might be the most repugnant venue we've ever been in. It's basically a huge, black airplane hangar with horrible sound and zero vibe. Cut Copy's set must have clocked in at under 20 minutes, because when we arrived at 8:30pm, TV on the Radio was already performing.

Luckily Cut Copy was scheduled to play a much longer set at Popscene, so after several songs from Franz Ferdinand we headed over to 330 Ritch to wait. Most of the patrons we saw were wearing outfits that took copious amounts of time to conceive and prepare, as if they'd taken all week to get ready for Thursday night. Asymmetrical hairdos, white accessories, scarves with tank tops, an ill-advised tutu -- there was no shortage of eye candy. Which is good, because Cut Copy took their sweet time getting onstage. We passed a good 15 minutes watching a silent projection of a young Laura Dern in "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains" (1981), a film that we hope to watch in its entirety someday.

(Read about their show after the cut.)

Cut Copy finally took the stage as a trio of young, skinny, floppy-haired indie rockers. With live drums, a few guitars, bass and more pedals and samplers than we've ever seen for such a small band, they launched into a set of partly-live, partly-triggered sounds that kept the audience dancing for the next 45 minutes. Cut Copy's main man Dan Whitford (who looks disturbingly like an ex of ours) was all business; he sang, played, and kept the stage banter to a minimum while keeping the energy level high. It didn't seem like the crowd had heard of Cut Copy prior to this show, but the packed audience soaked up their electronic beats and pop melodies. Dancing by the stage in a small venue with a packed and sweaty crowd gave us ten times the concert experience that Bill Graham Civic Center ever could.

Analog + digital, past + future, visceral + ethereal -- Cut Copy gives you the best of all extremes.

Download "Future" here.
Watch their video for "Saturday" on Yahoo Music.

Photo by Kane Skennar.