Dan Deacon & Ensemble, Future Islands @ Bowery Ballroom (late show) w/ pics

May 16, 2009

Dan Deacon's seminal solo tours became the stuff of indie legend: one Humpty Dumpty man clad in Sally Jessy Raphael frames; a DIY table covered in lo-fi electronic equipment and electrical tape set up in the middle of the dance floor; and raucous dance parties with Deacon's idiosyncrasies as the epicenter. Much has changed since his breakthrough electronic album Spiderman of the Ring's and its accompanying tours, however. Deacon, musically and financially liberated, composed an epic album, Bromst, of sweeping instrumentals and densely rewarding layers with the help of a 14-piece ensemble--his very own Baltimore Gamelan if you will. Naturally, the size of his new arrangements invite new constraints into his live show and so Deacon was resigned to performing onstage Saturday night at the Bowery Ballroom.

Going to the late show of a double header was also dubious. Given the energy of his shows, it was unsurprising that his entire ensemble couldn't keep up and some were performing on fumes, despite Devo-inspired jumpsuits. Deacon himself--repeatedly comparing the later show to previously successful gigs in Brooklyn and the night's first show--was easily frustrated by the late crowd's inability to follow his instructions for crowd participation and interactivity, lashing out, "Did I eat show poison before this?" Though the crowd gave their best efforts, Deacon was irked by the crowd's ineptness (inebriation?) and his frequent substitute teacher-like berating cast an awkward shadow on the show at times.

Regardless, Deacon seems incapable of committing any wrong towards his fans. They danced, soliloquized, and jumped on command all night long, revelling in the throbbing mass of sound coming from onstage. But the late set took its toll. Exhausted from dancing to the ironic Enya and Lisa Loeb house music before the show, the crowd seemed drained by 3am. From Deacon's questioning it sounded like many had been to all three of his shows over the weekend. The others must have been more coherent. Songs like "Of The Mountains" and "Woof Woof" lacked the dynamic punches and gradations that so greatly enhance their recorded counterparts. Next time, I'll have to make sure and catch him earlier in the night.

Future Islands...



Dan Deacon & Ensemble...

The Roots @ Highline Ballrom w/ pics

May 13, 2009


As The Roots slowly adjust to their new day job accompanying Jimmy Fallon and New York-centric lifestyle, their bi-weekly residency at the Highline Ballroom, "The Jam", has become an unpredictable yet approachable setting to see the group in its element. At least elements of the group. Last Wednesday night found only Black Thought, ?uestlove--the mainstays of the group--and bass player Owen Biddle leading an open mic night of sorts.

The late night set consisted of dozens of young, fledgling musicians sharing the stage with their musical heroes (many gave personal shout outs to the group and/or ?uestlove.) It was unclear whether they were all alumni of the same performing arts academy as the Roots themselves (Philadelphia's High School for the Creative Performing Arts) or just an assortment of their favorite up and coming rappers, vocalists, guitarists, horn players and percussionists. Regardless, the sell out crowd was supportive and encouraging of the raw talent making its rounds on stage.

However the real story of the night was the stellar rhythm section holding the jam session together--that The Roots are one of music's best rhythm sections should surprise no one. Naturally de facto music director of the Roots, ?uestlove, was at the helm, micromanaging the shuffling list of musicians from behind his drum kit and also calling out changes and key signatures to the other players. His ambidexterity is awesome, but his real talent is his ability is seamlessly transitioning and transposing multiple musical epochs into one fluid jam. He does it every night and I suspect his work on Late Night is only improving this skill. Along with ?uestlove, the celebrated songwriter and keyboard player James Poyser played back up. Perfectly in sync with ?uestlove the presence of Biddle, on six-string bass, rounded out the extremely adaptable and agile rhythm section.

Given that the Lonely Island had performed on Late Night the previous evening, I was holding out hope that their collaboration with the Roots will spill over into the Highline gig. The band's ephemeral sets are just another reason to keep coming back for more.

Junior Boys @ Webster Hall (Disaster Ensues) w/pics

May 7, 2009


The show must go on. So the old adage goes at least, but that was before electronic music and before bands became completely dependent on alternating current and all the gizmos, computers and samplers that it brings to life. An electronic-based band should hardly have amnesty from such showbiz dogma. And yet the Junior Boys pulled out all the scapegoats Thursday night when Matt Didemus’ sampler cut out. Singer Jeremy Greenspan had the unfortunate task of conveying all the bad news to the crowd, though. They chastised the sampler’s manufacturer, AKAI, stressed the frustration of having such problems in New York City rather than Kentucky, and shot out that, “I bet this never happens to Fleet Foxes.”


I would also bet it never happens to any band that:
(1) is prepared, technically, to handle such unlikely events;
(2) has the conviction and creativity/ingenuity to continue without the faulty gear, even with wildly different variations;
or (3) has technical issues but keeps it to themselves and still plays--since 90 % of the gear is functioning--and most fans can’t tell the difference anyway! I heard about a dozen people repeat that last one at Webster Hall.


The worst part was their stalling tactics. They’d say, “OK, we’ve got one more option”, and then spend 15 minutes futzing around with a sampler before launching into a song. Elated that they were actually playing the audience would get all excited, only to hear them stop suddenly and whine about their gear malfunctioning. This scenario repeated itself for over an hour, during which they managed to squeeze out "Work" and "Double Shadow", though the effort and ostensible technical problems made them all look constipated. Finally the crowd's patience wore thin (though I was still struck by how many people were willing to wait indefinitely), booed them (in the face of repeated apologies), and was relieved to finally get a straight answer: the show won’t go on. Lame.

So far so good...


Uh oh, announcement time


"Fingers crossed!"

(We're fucked)

Techie

From the three songs they actually did play...