Part 5: Best and Worst Dressed

Worst Dressed

The only thing worse than letting your mom dress you is letting your publicist do it. “Fashion faux pas” doesn’t even begin to describe these dandies.

5. The Hidden Cameras
8 June 2007: Barcelona, Spain
Ever seen an eight-piece adorn vampire capes and pointed teeth before launching into a song called “Golden Showers”? Brilliant? Yes. Haute couture? No way.  But then, sometimes bad fashion is the best… you know if you’re trying to please the undead. -Shain Shapiro

4. Jandek
11 March 2007: Richmond, VA

Remember the creepy, elderly white guy in Poltergeist II—the guy who died of stomach cancer during filming? The sky-pale, sickly thin Jandek, dressed all in black, reminded me of him. And his music reminded me of dead Indians, so you know, i guess it makes sense with the aesthetic. But that doesn’t change the fact that it’d literally scare Mr. Blackwell to death -Brent Baldwin

3. Mercy Arms
30 March 2007: Sydney, AUS

The guitarist for Pixies support band The Mercy Arms arrived onstage in a pastel pink, tasseled jumper. At one point he appeared to be inviting Frank Black on stage to join the band for some sort of jam. No one was surprised when Black declined. Well, no one but the band.-Nick Gunn

2. Trash Fashion
October 2007: London

I have no idea when tight, elastic fluorescent pants and anti-rave, Nintendo-style shirts came back in style. Trash, indeed, but not so fashionable. The music? As rubbish as their sense of style.  -Shain Shapiro

1. Deerhunter
10 July 2007: Philadelphia, PA

Deerhunter made waves for many reasons this year, but most of the shore-slapping white water wasn’t for their music so much as their opinions. Main man Bradford Cox may have disconcerted critics with opinionated blog postings, but it seems haute couture wasn’t a high point, either: Cox appeared at this show dressed in a long t-shirt emblazoned with the screen-printed body of a bikini-clad woman. Sure, it was one of the hottest days of the year, but the outfit was more Atlantic City boardwalk than blog-hype band. -Kevin Pearson

Best Dressed

They may not have been Ziggy Stardust, but these folks certainly weren’t wearing jeans and a t-shirt (well, except that one).

5. Holly Golightly & the Broke-Offs
27 October 2007: New York, NY
Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” zombies and myriad Halloween crazies usurped the city streets this Saturday night, but the most impressive costume was Holly Golightly & the Broke-Offs’ perennial sideman Lawyer Dave impersonating an entire band. In addition to laying down some of the best lap-steel licks and bass thumps this side of Memphis, Dave rigged a drum/hi-hat contraption to his knees, ankles, and feet that had the skins work sounding as solid as Levon Helm himself. That the Broke-Offs can be just one man and still sound like a full band and not a novelty is scary. And way to keep the overhead low, Holly! -Ryan S. Henriquez

4. High On Fire
5 October 2007: Richmond, VA
I’m no fashion writer. So yes, Matt Pike was wearing jeans and no shirt at all, but even so he cut a figure that summed up perfectly years of metal evolution. With long hair, tattoos, messed-up teeth, and ass-dragging jeans, Pike looked like a metal god even before he played a lick. -Brent Baldwin

3. Jamie Lidell
1 January 2007: Sydney, AUS
Jamie Lidell blinded the crowd not only with his blistering hard-tech-meets-soul New Year’s set, but also with his larger-than-life mirror-ball outfit. From all angles, he, and the New Year, glinted. Oh, what what possibilities laid before us all. -Nick Gunn

2. Of Montreal
8 March 2007: Philadelphia, PA
I derided them at the time for their attempted Dadaist revue, but in retrospect, no other band comes close to the clothing choices that Of Montreal make (that is, of course, when they decide to wear clothes). Whether it’s wings or wigs, old Army jackets or jarring mascara, they are dashing and dapper, and yes, more cuckoo than Dada. -Kevin Pearson

1. Rufus Wainwright
8 June 2007: New York, NY
Rufus Wainwright is one of our generation’s most gifted entertainers, but nothing could have prepared the audience for Wainwright returning to the stage following two full sets, alone and in a white terry bathrobe. He placed a plain wooden chair in the middle of the stage, sat down, and carefully applied eyeliner, blush, and cherry-red lipstick. Finally, he let the robe fall to unveil Judy Garland herself in a Carnegie Hall sequined cocktail dress and stiletto heels. “Garland” proceeded to regale the audience with hit after hit from the classic American songbook. Somewhere over the rainbow, indeed. -Ryan S. Henriquez