I finally saw the Church a couple of days ago. They've been a favorite band of mine since high school, with dreamy psychedelia and moody pop songs that appeal to me like a muthafucka. I've always had the image of them as somewhat dour, but they were yucking it up on stage, amusing themselves and the audience. I think they've reached that stage where they are utterly comfortable with themselves and don't feel the need to "prove" how serious they are; the music speaks for itself. And they were quite good. They played one song from each of their 20-odd album releases in reverse chronological order, and their choices were far from upbeat or poppy. If anything, they emphasized melancholic "deep" album tracks. I enjoyed it immensely. It was weird to see them sing songs that meant a lot to me, a mere 30 feet away, amidst jokes and interactions with the audience. Very, very good. Next week, it's something new: Spoon and Deerhunter. Oh, the goodness, the goodness (that's a Reverse Kurtz, y'all).