Rotture
Portland, OR
2011 – 03/31

RYAT

Despite the fact that RYAT recently played our SXSW house party, I will admit that I had no idea what their live show was like. Because I was running around like a madwoman, all I knew was that their set-up takes quite a bit of time and looks like quite a complex maze of gear. That, and they actually tour with a video artist, and that is quite a dedication to the craft, particularly for a mid-sized band. Luckily, RYAT isn’t just blowing smoke. They are professional as all heck.

The music RYAT makes isn’t dancey, per se, and can be considered unconventional even in the ever-saturated realm of experimental electronic acts. That’s where the appeal lies, though. Drums build and fall, rotating between the individual drum sets employed by the two members, Christina Ryat and Tim Conley, and mixes fade and cross with cues taken from progressive electronic tracks and DJ sets. I can honestly say I have never seen a band perform like this, with RYAT’s vocals falling somewhere between Bjork’s and CocoRosie’s, her stage presence vibing like a classically-trained dancer at a techno club.

Prior to the show, my friend had explained to me that he was far from sold on the idea of live visuals accompanying sets, because they seem far too commonplace these days, and more often than not, they detract from the live performance. I happen to agree. far too many musicians incorporate visuals without truly understanding the stake they hold, but RYAT know how to do a live show right. The visuals, programmed live by video artist Annapurna Kumar, add great value; falling directly upon the band members’ bodies rather than behind them, they offer perfectly-paced and perfectly-appropriate content. What’s more: something about Rotture’s subwoofer and sound system caused a whipping of bass that slapped me with winds so hard that I seriously thought, multiple times, that someone had thrown an object at me. This sonic oddity was naturally timed perfectly to the music, offering a fourth-dimensional factor to the show. It was seriously incredible, and incredibly bizarre.

Pegasus Dream

During RYAT’s set, Christina Ryat described headlining band Pegasus Dream, saying, “My mother would say, ‘What nice boys!’” and I could instantly see where this impression might’ve come from. Pegasus Dream were a complete 180 from RYAT. Between their 8-bit melodies, humorous sound check antics, goofy stage banter (about this particular show being the one year anniversary of Pegasus Dream an fellow Portlanders Nucular Aminals being neighbors), and video art transitions with images of — I think — Sasquatch, Pegasus Dream remind me in a way of Napoleon Dynamite. (Hope that isn’t offensive, guys.) What I mean is: their music is light-hearted and probably good for dancing around a living room to. And I don’t wholly mean the comparison, either; I rather hate Napoleon Dynamite, and these guys are better than that.

(I should also note that they have some kind of extremely talented designer in their midst, as their branding, as it translates to posters and CDs and all other collateral — is top-notch and worth a peek.)

Rendezvous
Seattle, WA
2011 – 03/31

Filling up JewelBox Theater in the Seattle institution, Rendezvous, Sib went on an hour-plus tear of recalling the day that he discovered punk rock. But let’s not start there.

Eric Lincoln Hurst

The show itself opened up with East Coaster and Seattle Transplant, Eric Lincoln Hurst, a comedian who tells jokes sans gimmick, which tends to be a rarity these days, let alone in Seattle. Hurst’s no-nonsense approach is every bit of Eddie Murphy, Dice Clay or Sam Kinison, and doesn’t shamelessly try to ape Patton Oswalt or Eugene Mirman, something that seems to happen in Seattle (and in the comedy scene in general) more times than not.

Hurst was also a good match for Sib, who, while not a comedian by trade, still brought hilarious and poignant stories to the table.

Joe Sib

Backed by a slideshow of several photos from his past, Sib goes into extreme detail of his Northern California upbringing, touching on his parents’ divorce, his Italian heritage, his introduction to punk rock, and his time fronting Wax and co-founding SideOneDummy Records (home to The Gaslight Anthem and Broadway Calls, among others).

What I found particularly unique about Sib’s show is how entertaining it was. Usually, the old punx speaking tours can be somewhat of a downer, whether it’s Henry Rollins (who usually has good stories, mind you) talking about what a stupid idiot you are to your face, or Jello Biafra explaining the downsides of American foreign politics. Because Sib’s story is incredibly personal and well-executed (spoiler alert: there’s dancing and crowd participation involved), I found myself leaving the show feeling upbeat and with a huge smile in my face rather than with the desire to go smash the windows at Niketown.

BOOM!

Mustachioed duo BOOM! started the night with a polished set of speed-psych rock, vibing off each other and cruising through a quick session on stage. With each track shifting gears more often than an over-caffeinated truck driver, BOOM! left little time for the crowd to even bob their head before moving on to the next jam. Clearly led by the drummer’s fast and precise slams, BOOM! benefit from a symbiotic drum-to-guitar relationship as opposed to purely guitar-driven punk. BOOM! could definitely benefit from expanding their ideas on album, as each song felt like a vignette of something yearning to be expanded.

Mean Jeans

Next up was Mean Jeans, whose three piece ensemble kicked out familiar and awesome tunes, finally energizing the crowd and performing the best set of the night. I’ve always thought it’s the sign of a great band when their live performance outshines their recordings, and Mean Jeans took their best songs to a whole new level in person. As the first crowdsurfer took to people’s shoulders, fans sung along to “Let’s Pogo B4 You Gogo” and “Slime Time.” “We’ve only got two love songs,” Mean Jeans lead singer/guitarist pointed out, “but we’re trying to write that song. We want to get on the TV.” When he screamed the name of the track into the mic before the drummer counted it off, the entire venue was theirs. Mean Jeans might not be ready for the small screen, but they certainly know how to kick out stellar Ramones-esque garage rock.

White Fang

White Fang, whose new record, Grateful To Shred, was the toast of the evening, commanded an energy on stage with both its visual exhibitionism and often improvised tunes. Their house party attitude certainly shined, as the guitarist played two songs from the back of the venue, the lead singer jumped into the crowd, and the bassist began the set in only his boxers, eventually playing half the set in his birthday suit. They’re raucous, loud, and messy, but never in a scary way. “Our set was over like ten minutes ago” the lead singer said as the band members switched positions and screamed at each other, with guitarist and drummer in the crowd with the mic, singer on drums, and bassist in the buff kicking out a solid rhythm. As White Fang’s set devolved from album cuts into straight-up fooling around, the band’s talent was finally on display. Creative license at its finest, White Fang did as they pleased, jamming and creating songs on the fly, proving that they absolutely belong in psych-rock’s current revival.

The entire show felt like a reunion of sorts, and with BOOM!, Mean Jeans, and White Fang all sharing a home on Gnar Tapes it sort of was, but the entire show gave off the vibe of one big inside joke I didn’t get. White Fang’s unabashed performance captured at least the eyes of the crowd, but for me it was Mean Jeans who shred their way into my heart.

103 Harriet
San Francisco, CA
2011 – 03/25

Com Truise

I bob my head and my mind begins to wander. I think if I were ever trapped in one of those cheesy/awesome ’80s action movies, where I’ve got to sneak into the bad guy’s chemical plant/computer silo under cover of night to recover the secret formula/stolen data and stop the evil terrorist plot/save the damsel in distress, I’d want Com Truise to create the soundtrack.That might sound strange until you listen to “Cyanide Sisters” or “Slow Peels.” The music is rife with ’80s awesomeness. Listening to Com Truise is like watching a washed-out VHS of Blade Runner as directed by John Hughes; it’s got a serious edge, but pop sensibilities. It was the New Jersey producer’s first show in SF, and he was the odd man out on a bill comprised of more pyrotechnic and energy producers. As much as the crowd dug Com Truise’s nostalgic glo-fi, you could tell that many were eagerly waiting for Gold Panda.

(Note: You can download Com Truise’s Cyanide Sisters EP here: http://comtruise.com/2010/07/cyanide-sisters-ep-2/)

Gold Panda

Soon enough, Gold Panda took the stage. After a slew of EPs and high-profile remixes of Bloc Party, HEALTH, and others, the 30-year-old east Londoner released his debut LP, Lucky Shiner, in October of last year. Labeling music is always a bit tricky. It’s dangerously easy to pigeonhole an artist or get lost with genres that confuse more than they classify, so I’ll let NME do my dirty work; the UK music mag pegs Gold Panda’s sound as “somewhere between minimal house, ethno techno, eclectic turntablism and spun-silver electronica.” Right. So if those words mean anything to you, congrats. But if you’re as lost as I am, let me simplify: Gold Panda’s music is good. Very good. Sonically lush, it blends drums, synths, guitars, strings, chimes, glockenspiels, vibraphones and pitched-up vocals into something beautiful. Everything is, of course, processed, distorted and glitched-out on an Akai MPC2000XL sampler. “You” gives you a taste of Gold Panda’s signature sound: sliced samples (here, a pitched-up vocal) pulse out in short rhythmic bursts over warm synths and organic drums.

Listen to “You” – DOWNLOAD MP3

Maybe he’s like me, I think –– overly self-conscious, I mean. The FADER labeled him as a “misanthrope” and “curmudgeon.” But it’s good to be strange, right? To go from making music in the privacy of your bedroom to traveling around the world to play for crowds of strangers is difficult. In a mini-documentary from his label, Ghostly International, Gold Panda talked about this, saying, “Music is a very private thing for me; to make it public is quite difficult. I never intended to play live and being a solo artist is quite lonely… I don’t have a lot of confidence in myself.” Onstage though, he was all energy — nervous and frantic energy, but energy nonetheless. He rocked his head violently back and forth and lifted his hands dramatically to pound the MPC. I thought he might crack his head on the table as he sprung up and down to tweak effects pedals at his feet. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that electronic musicians have it easy playing from laptops; the dude was working up a sweat. People loved it all and went nuts over favorites like “Marriage” and “Quitter’s Raga.” He worked the crowd into such a frenzy that they almost turned on him when his laptop came unplugged during “Snow & Taxis.” The momentary silence was enough to elicit boos from most of the crowd. So fickle, this bunch! Panda made a quick recovery though, the music was back on and the crowd was back on his side.

If Gold Panda can set aside his self-consciousness to have a good time and enjoy the music, I figure, why can’t I? I abandon my Anchor Steam and drift onto the dance floor. Self-consciousness be hanged; these tunes are just too good.

“I don’t have a lot of confidence,” he says again in that interview, “I never say to people, ‘I made an amazing track yesterday, you gotta hear it.’”

But that sort of bravado isn’t necessary. The music is fantastic and the crowd knows it.

Neumos
Seattle, WA
2011 – 03/24

Going to see Akron/Family is an exercise: literally. Besides never knowing how the freak-folk-rock band is going to blast out the versions of their songs — maybe a bit softer here, a bit harder there — when the band came out to the Neumo’s crowd, multi-instrumentalist Seth Olinsky led the crowd in a quick jumping jacks exercise to loosen those joints out.

It was quite a good idea, to be fair, because Akron/Family are generally not content on stage if you are just standing in the audience. They want you engaged, whether that is through doing jumping jacks, holding up the Christmas light chains they personally drag throughout the crowd, or just simulating the sea in a motion of hands.

Akron/Family are generally not content on stage if you are just standing in the audience. They want you engaged, whether that is through doing jumping jacks, holding up the Christmas light chains they personally drag throughout the crowd, or just simulating the sea in a motion of hands.

The band opened with a couple songs off of Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free, including a soft intro with “Set ‘Em Free” and the more rocking and engaging “River” — the latter of which truly showcases the bands ability to just lock into ‘rock mode’ and set the crowd into a dancing frenzy. At times, it can be tough to figure out where the band is going, as the trio just blasts around on stage with improvised guitar lines, hefty bass lines, and yelps of distortion. At one point, when the jam seemed to go too long, both Miles Seaton and Olinksy hopped off the stage to get their Christmas lights into the crowd and rile the mass of bodies right back up. The band played a fantastic set, with many songs off their new album, ST II – The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT, and a few smatterings of other songs.

And also, like all good bands, the band denied one man’s cry for a specific song. An Akron/Family performance isn’t 12 or 13 songs made up into a set; it is just one continuous flowing motion, like the sea of fingers they created in the crowd for the song “Island.” For ninety minutes or so, the band is on stage, and they are making noise. You can sit on the balcony and drink a beer, but the experience is truly different when you’re in the thick of it.

Tractor Tavern
Seattle, WA
2011 – 03/08

Mount Eerie

Anarcortes, Washington-based musical maniac Mount Eerie opened up. Phil Elverum, with his standard anti-rock/nervous performer presence, announced that the band would play exactly seven songs. There was a new man on the keyboards and another new woman on the other keyboards. But as it is with Mount Eerie, Elverum was there manning the gong, the distortion equipment, and an enormous vibraharp; Elverum is Mount Eerie. Because of the new band members, there were a few noticeable slip ups on stage, often resulting in a slight disjointed segue. But Mount Eerie’s presence remained commanding. Even when the crowd demanded for more vibes, Elverum responded, “That is what I get for bringing a quiet instrument to a rock show.” Elverum hammered away even more relentlessly for the vibraphone to be heard over the waves of distortion, and the subtlety of the instrument really showed through on quieter songs like “Between Two Mysteries.” The band closed out the set with a emotionally chilling song, with all three members eventually rattling away softly on the vibraphone over the soft harmonious crooning of Elverum. In a similar venue at any other time, the crowd would’ve been baffled by the woodsy sounds, but the almost-hometown crew gave a raucous display of thanks when it was all over.

EARTH

Just like Elverum is the lifeblood of Mount Eerie, so is the same for Dylan Carson and EARTH. The ever-rotating supporting cast consisted of the same drummer and cellist on Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light: I but featured a new bassist. EARTH launched into the album, playing “Descent To The Zenith”, “Father Midnight”, and “Old Black.” The songs sounded masterful as they plodded along at the pace of a rock slowly deteriorating beneath a bubbling stream. Carson threw in playful little guitar licks as the crowd methodically bobbed their heads about as slowly as possible. EARTH played the title track off of the fantastic The Bees Made Honey In the Lion’s Skull, and then closed out with an unnamed track off of next year’s planned release, Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light: II.

As with all EARTH shows, when the applause settled, the crowd was much smaller than when the band started. For all the genius in EARTH’s original drone sound, sometimes the incredibly slow pace of the band’s music can take its toll on even the healthiest pair of legs. To see EARTH live is an exercise in musical endurance, but one that is clearly worth it as you watch one of the godfathers of the drone genre on stage.