You Am I

10.24.2006

Australian band, You Am I, played to a not-so-sold-out show at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco last night. They’re virtually unknown in the United States, unless you’re Australian or have visited Australia, but big in their homeland, so my one ex-pat Australian friend tells me.

Opening band, the Fleshies, was an easy act to follow, even for street musicians, even for a 3rd grade kazoo player. If they put as much energy into being good as they did making faces and rolling around on the floor, they might have gotten people other than their friends and other than You Am I fans to watch them play. They proceded to show their ignorance and lack of tact by saying, “We’re Men at Work. Get it? ‘Cause they’re Australian.” Not funny.

I must admit I’m not too familiar with their repertoire, but the show was still entertaining and front man Tim Rogers amped the crowd. The last two songs were ones I knew (most likely their biggest hits): Berlin Chair and Miss You like Sleep. (Berlin Chair actually inspired half of Silverchair’s name.) They also played a shortened version of Neil Young’s Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere.

Moral of the Story: No matter how big you are, there’re still a lot of people who don’t know you so stay humble and try to win their hearts too.

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