I'm really starting to hate indie fans. It must be hard for a band to get on stage, day after day, and look down at an audience who, in the words of Travis Morrison, are always "doing the standing still." What is it about indie rock shows that makes audience members feel like they can't move their feet, even for a band like the Natural History, whose brand of rock is so inherently danceable? I hereby make a vow that from now on, when the opportunity to dance at a show arises, I will take that opportunity head on, whether I end up making a fool of myself or not.

Now that that's done with, on to the concert at hand. I've heard great things about the Long Winters' live show, and I was very upset to have missed them on their recent tour with Death Cab for Cutie. The rumors were definitely substantiated on this night, as I haven't laughed that hard at a concert since Heavenly States singer Ted Nesseth's between-song banter had me constantly rolling on the floor. Singer/guitarist John Roderick is quite possibly the geekiest frontman on the music scene today, with the thickest coke-bottle glasses I've ever seen and didn't think were even made anymore. His look only added to the overall amusement. While normally I find talking between songs by the band annoying, John made it entertaining and a fun part of the show. John made fun of his band members as well as members of the audience, then had no problem letting them all make fun of him right back. I don't know if everyone in the audience appreciated it as much as I did, but those who didn't probably just needed to lighten up a little.

Luckily for the band, they are much more than a few good jokes. The set kicked off with "Stupid" from their recent album, When I Pretend to Fall. "Stupid" was actually one of my least favorite songs on the album; however, in a live setting the song came off incredibly well and was probably one of their best of the night. Funny how hearing a song live can change your opinion of it so drastically. The end of this song led into an impromptu version of "Linus and Lucy," which was fun and well-received by the audience. Overall, the band was incredibly tight in their delivery; the vocals sounded great, and every note seemed to hit right on target. John's passionate and energetic delivery definitely added to their great stage presence.

Headlining the show was Brooklyn's The Natural History, a threesome made up of brothers Julian and Max Tepper, as well as drummer Derek Vockins. The Natural History have been making a name for themselves recently with a contribution to the Yes New York compilation as well as a video that has gotten airplay on MTV2's indie show Subterranean. Listening to their debut album Beat Beat Heartbeat, I can't help but compare them to Spoon, and I was interested to see if the comparison would hold up in person. As the Natural History launched into "Facts Are," the Spoon comparison went out the window as the band declared its own style and personality on stage. The vast majority of their set was made up of new songs that will appear on their second album, coming out in the fall. In fact, only three songs from Beat Beat Heartbeat were played at all, though they did at least choose to play the three best songs on the album. I definitely found the new material impressive, however; the songs were definitely longer and more developed than their previous work. One song in particular really stood out to me, with a fantastic chorus and great guitar work on the part of lead singer/guitarist Max. Another fun surprise was a song sung mostly by bassist Julian, whose voice proved to be rugged and pretty darn sexy.

There were only two downsides to the show, in my opinion. One was the pretty obvious fact that Max was fighting a cold, and looked like he might pass out at any second; he trudged on, though, and still managed to sound good and keep the energy as high as he could manage. Second was my aforementioned issue with the audience. The Natural History's music is so fun I thought people should have been getting into it much more than they were, though this problem is definitely not one unique to this show in particular. Hopefully in the near future, bands like the Natural History will start getting the audience participation they deserve at every show they play.