The wife and I tripped down to Madison Friday night to catch the free Titus Andronicus/Los Campesinos! show at Der Rathskellar. It was our first show at Der Rathskellar; we've been to The Annex and the High Noon Saloon before, but never made it over to the Union (which houses Der Rathskellar for those that aren't familiar with the UW Campus) to catch any of the shows the WUD puts on. However, after last night's stellar outing, we'll certainly be returning in the future for a show.

The venue: Der Rathskellar, Memorial Union

Once I remembered where the Union was, we made our way down Langdon Street to the already packed Der Rathskellar at 8pm. The show wasn't scheduled to start for another hour, but already there wasn't a seat available in the area facing the stage, or anywhere around it for that matter. We were able to get our first round of MGD & Newcastle at the bar quickly, and then perched ourselves outside Der Rathskellar for a little while to take in the atmosphere.

After a drink and some people watching, we wormed our way to a table for two behind the stage which had opened up; at the time, it seemed like our only option if we wanted to be able to sit and still see the show. It's really not a bad vantage point back there, but acoustically it's a terrible location. You can hear the music just fine, but I couldn't make out most of the vocals during the show. Unfortunately there were some issues with crowd control as the bands didn't want anyone sitting in front of the stage at the tables or directly behind the stage either, so an already packed venue became very crowded right in front of the stage and towards the corner when people were forced to pick up and pack in. Luckily our spot towards the back was far enough to the side that we didn't have to move.

As a venue, I found Der Rathskellar very accessible; beer was just few feet away and always pretty available; there was a door you could slip out to go smoke or cool off right behind me; and the bathrooms were right outside, fairly clean, and uncrowded. Were it not a free show the crowd of sweaty college students up front might have had a little more breathing room, but that comes with the territory I suppose. Ok, on to the bands.

Titus Andronicus

As I mentioned to fellow blogger and event co-sponsor Ryan from Muzzle of Bees at the show, I was really surprised by the showing that both the bands brought. I didn't expect to see people packed in front of the stage a half hour before the opening band came on, but that's exactly what you had that night. A young crowd, very eager for some music, and two excellent bands that were more than willing to respond to the challenge.

I didn't know a lot about Titus Andronicus before Friday night, but I probably should have. They played a short but very raucous set that provided an instant spark to a crowd just waiting for a catalyst.

Titus Andronicus

Within the first few songs students were already crowd surfing, as was Titus Andronicus frontman Patrick Stickles, and the fans up front were swelling over the stage like sweaty rats trying to stay on a ship being battered by heavy waves from every direction. The Titus Andronicus set was a mix of electronic and punk, very raw and energy filled, and much appreciated by the crowd.

Los Campesinos!

After a fairly brief intermission, the Welsh outfit that is Los Campesinos! took the stage, armed with a case of Old Milwaukee, a bottle of dark liquor which I took to be whiskey, and benefited by an already energized crowd. I've only had a listen to two of Los Campesinos! albums before, so there were a few songs on the set list that were new to me, but I enjoyed pretty much everything they had to offer (my favorite last night though was probably "My Year in Lists").

Los Campesinos! and the sweaty student crowd

Our view from the back

She was wearing black hi-top Chuck Taylors. Awesome.

I'm generalizing here, but like a lot of euro rock bands, the women in Los Campesinos! were gorgeous, the guys were skinny, and they all like to get crazy during the show.

At one point in the set the guitarist, Neil, was crowd surfing while playing:

Neil makes the leap

Los Campesinos! singer Gareth was a whirling dervish on most songs, all while fighting off an asthma attack:

Gareth, rocking the glock, but not making with the eye contact.

Admittedly, it's a lot harder for us to "work" a show when we enjoy it as much as we did last night. And while Titus Andronicus and Los Campesinos! only combined for what turned out to be a little more than an hour and a half of music (the show was over, with no encore, by 11:45 pm), it was an intense show that was certainly worth the free price of admission for all in attendance. I'd easily pay to see both of these bands again, and I recommend catching them on the road if you have a chance. You won't be disappointed - we certainly weren't; not with the venue, not with the crowd, not with the bands or even the beer prices - and certainly not with the post-show Long Island ice teas we enjoyed at The Red Shed.

Shows and evenings like the one we were experienced Friday night thanks to Titus Andronicus, Los Campesionos!, The WUD and Muzzle of Bees make you never want to leave a town like Madison, which probably explains why most of my friends never have.

Review and much, much better pictures at Muzzle of Bees
Review at 77 Square