Farewell Prabir & the Substitutes

The Ghost of Pop materialized at Gallery 5 tonight, a cold December night.

For the fifth year, an assemblage of musicians gathered to celebrate the best in RVA popdom, except that this year there was a difference. It was the final show for Prabir and the Substitutes, those carriers of the local pop banner and masters of the hipster haircuts.

Let's just say they went out in a blaze of glory.

As the band themselves expressed, it was a bittersweet performance, ending a successful four-year collaboration. Prabir lightened things a bit by reading an e-mail from a long-time Harrisonburg fan who copped to being so drunk and stoned at a show at the Dog House that he took a dump in the trashcan in the back. At the time, Rob the bass player had commented that, "this place smells like shit." Once and for all, that mystery has been solved.

The band played everything from the first song they ever wrote together right up to their instant recent classic, "Everybody's Got Someone to Fuck But Me."

By the fourth song, David Shultz and the Skyline were on stage, singing, throwing balloons, shooting Silly String and popping confetti onto the band. The tone for the evening was set.

Prabir read one other e-mail, from the band Dr. Dog, thanking him for having brought them to RVA and bemoaning the breakup. Again with the bittersweet, but it was tough to avoid given that the band's first and final shows were at Gallery 5.

The final song brought about the slam-bang finish the rapt audience was hoping for; the keyboard was ignited, guitars were lit and smashed, all as the band wound down.

With the flames lighting up the stage, the band started hugging and getting sentimental with one other, as well they should after such a superb run. Undoubtedly, local music fans will look forward to seeing what these guys do next.

And, note to Prabir: I should be the one singing "Everybody's Got Someone."

Prabir's Plan

You might assume that a local rock legend like Prabir (of Prabir and the Substitutes) is always a victor in the game of love.

Not so, he told me before his acoustic show last night when I asked about his latest conquests.

Even a pop prince gets his heart broken, it would seem.

But never fear, Prabir has a sure-fire plan for working through a broken heart and the way he told me, it goes something like this:

1. Drink too much
2. Make a list of all the things you want to accomplish in life
3. Start dating
4. Drink too much
5. Abruptly stop dating
6. Compile a list of all the sexual conquests you want to make (by type and activity, not by name).

I have a feeling I know what the next step is, but that was as far as he got in telling me the plan because that's as far as he's gotten in his recovery process.

These are words to live by, folks, from a rock god who knows the score.

You have to admire a man with so much musical talent and a plan.

Treble in Trouble

Punk rock? Indie rock?

However you label the music of Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, no one can deny that it's smart music, topical and toe-tapping.

Last night's show at the Canal Club didn't have the amazing vibe that last years' show at Gallery 5 did, but it was definitely a good show nonetheless.

Leo told us right up front that it would be a show of mostly B sides and new stuff and then launched into an A-side, igniting the crowd's enthusiasm and not really letting go of it.

Local openers Prabir and the Substitutes did their usual melodic and poppy brand of rock and roll that they do so well.

The Washington Post's event listing has singled out these guys as a "Don't miss" performance several times now when they have played in Northern Virginia (inevitably mentioning their hipster haircuts), so word is out that they put on a great show.

And those of us who made a point to arrive early enough weren't disappointed last night (except in that Prabir has trimmed his magnificent mutton chops way back) either.

Now on to tonight's musical choices: TV on the Radio at The National, Band of Horses at The Norva or David Byrne at Charlottesville Pavilion?

Somehow I'll just have to choose...