As history, common sense, observation and our own experiments have shown us time and time again, no matter how hard you try, you just cannot be in two places at the same time. Otherwise, on Inauguration Day this past Tuesday, the Walkmen's Hamilton Leithauser would've been back in the city he grew up in, Washington DC, watching the historic ceremonies in person.

"My parents were there," Leithauser tells Spinner. "My cousins were there. I watched it from my hotel room in San Diego." Oh, the inconveniences of being on a sold-out West Coast tour with your friends, Beach House, in support.

Despite, you know, traveling with a band and thus expected to rock 'n' roll all night and party every day, Hamilton made it a point to rise with the rooster and watch the entire inauguration. "I thought Barack did a damn good job," he says. "I actually thought the moment where John Roberts messed up the swearing in was pretty incredible. Barack was so sharp and polite -- it was a testament to just how sharp the guy must be."

Coincidentally, "sharp" is the most frequently used adjective in describing the Walkmen's stage presence. Looks like we can expect great things these next four to eight years.