Oh, dear. The tragic and heartfelt lyrics of Whites Lies and Friendly Fires finally reached our San Francisco shores from across the pond —on the same ticket—and it was a fair sonic jolt to the heart. The two acts, now on a straight run for Coachella, managed to give us all they had. And there was enough to spare (with a much-anticipated after hours DJ set which went down at Paradise Lounge right after the show).

With all the energy and drama they’ve been praised for overseas, collectively they managed to put a sold-out Slim’s audience up in arms last Saturday. It was steady pop-rock in all its electrified glory, with some eyes rolling and others glued to the stage. The two British acts have been stirring a frenzy all over Europe since last summer, and it was awesome to see them show San Francisco what all the hype is about.

Friendly Fires crammed on to the stage (pumped as all hell), ready to blast our faces off with some energized rhythm. Ed MacFarlane (lead vocals and keyboard) was jiving like a young Mick Jagger all night.  These boys are moving on in good faith that the dance floor can, and indeed will, heal all wounds of the heart. That's a good thing for them, and a great thing for us. Move boys, move on.

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