Sarah Tomlinson: Blog

2.28 Georgie James @ Spaceland

The audience may not have gotten the memo, but it was an indie rock dance party when Georgie James took the stage at Spaceland on Wednesday night. This D.C.-based quartet plays songs jammed with enough soulful melodies and Rhodes licks to evoke a little of that old Stevie Wonder magic. Well, if he decided to pack in his whole Motown routine, move to D.C. and put out his records on Dischord. But while the influence of co-founder and former Q And Not U drummer John Davis’ musical past surfaces here, the songs have a more stylish pop sophistication mixed in with their shake it, shake it vibe. This is thanks to the influence of Laura Burhenn, whose sultry vocals are the band’s secret weapon. When paired with Davis, their sunburst harmonies swing. While too many bands view a cute girl on keyboards as a fashion accessory, it’s so refreshing to hear Laura belt it out, not to mention look great doing it (sporting some hot peacock). Just take “Need Your Needs,” which blends shimmery maraca and angular dance rock riffs into something fresh and fabulous. And of course, big shout out to old friend Andrew Black (also of The Explosion), who gets to show off his stylish side here. He handled a mid-set kick drum disaster with aplomb and kept the dance party rolling.

Even the stiffest of the stiff cut loose after the band’s set, when the Club NME resident DJs (Sean a.k.a. Har Mar Superstar with a little help from Fabrizio) took over the decks for a dancetastic set that ran the gamut from Brit pop classics (Pulp’s forever brilliant “Common People”) to real deal dance music, (Beyonce, Outkast, Gnarls Barkley), not the ironic revivalist kind. We were all common people as things got sweaty and Kelly Osborne and Kirsten Dunst worked it alongside Laura Burhenn and Jenny Lewis and the amazingly adorable Australian chanteuse Sia, who has got to be the most dazzling dancer, ever. Like a flapper hopped up on Red Bull, that girl has some serious moves. Sing along and it might just get you through…