Concert Review:  Luna, Thursday Feb. 6, Abbey Pub

Clearly Luna were having an off night when I saw them two years ago because they were back on form last night at the Abbey Pub. During "Friendly Advice," Dean Wareham and Sean Eden made a strong case for the electric guitar being the greatest invention of the 20th century.  "23 Minutes in Brussels" has to be the sexiest song ever to reference Belgium.

When I interviewed Palmyra Delran of the Friggs a few years ago, we talked about her Pink Slip Daddy bandmate Mick Cancer becoming so engrossed in performing that it was like he was off in another place. Luna went there and brought along passengers.

The same could not be said for openers Slumber Party. They generated some good fuzzy drone and droning fuzz with occasional Jesus & Mary Chain-worthy feedback, but they were lifeless. The drummer for the all-female quartet was especially Stepford Wife-like. Call me an old-school punk, but what you lack in technique you should make up for in passion. And the biggest shortcoming of the Pavement school of indie rock is too many bands with neither technique nor passion. My college art professor who used Brian Eno's "Needle in the Camel's Eye" to illustrate negative space also declared that there is a big difference between painting, writing or making music because it's a nice thing to do and needing to create. Slumber Party were playing because it was nice. Luna need to do it.

Luna play the Abbey Pub again tonight, but it is sold out.