the only dancer i believe in

As promised (?), I'm sticking to a more normal and perhaps even consistent concert schedule these days with my second show in a row -- not only in town, but also at the Fillmore and with an out-of-town visitor, no less. This time, it was the triple bill of, er, Of Montreal, Deerhoof, and Kishi Bashi.

Of Montreal, the Fillmore, March 22, 2012: I really shouldn't wait a week to write these things, but even if I had managed to commit my immediate reactions to this blog, it wouldn't have been the most enlightening account. Truth be told, I haven't been following Of Montreal very closely since their association with that dude in Los Angeles has cooled down. But the glimpses I've seen of the band were intriguing, and combined with the appealing openers, the legendary venue, and a willing houseguest, I figured I might as well go to the show.

My Of Montreal ignorance didn't prevent me from enjoying the spectacle of the show. The Fillmore is nowhere as big as the Fox, where I last saw the band, but they managed to fit everyone and their instruments, while still allowing room for the extracurricular aspects of their act. It also made me wonder how they squeezed in at the Slim's show the night before!



This tour's accessories included several screens set in front of each band member's station, and a couple more at the back of the stage for video projections. Later, the band's roster of dancers/actors joined them for their choreographed moves and interactions. Early in the show, they released balloon-filled bags to the audience, though only after striking their poses as human billboards at the front of the stage for a good stretch. As the show progressed, these auxiliary players changed costumes, and toward the end of the evening, they enacted a small drama between two pig-faced villains and a pansexual being. (Man, I'm good at sucking the fun out of a concert.) Oh, they crowdsurfed too.



As for the music, I'm pretty sure I've mentioned before that you can easily rattle off a list of the band's influences -- but it doesn't matter when they manage to make it their own to such a degree. In a way, they remind me a lot more of the British bands I've liked rather than their American counterparts; then again, maybe I've been listening to the wrong U.S. musicians. In any case, I loved the nod to New Order, as Kevin Barnes dropped a couple of lines from "Temptation" into a song.

I may have been too overwhelmed by the party atmosphere last time to notice the darker and more introspective aspect of their music, but I couldn't miss them tonight. There were a couple of slow burners, but the one that made the biggest impression on me was "No Conclusion," marked by the unforgettable opening line "Tonight I feel like I should just destroy myself." Throughout much of the evening, I was trying to pinpoint exactly how Kevin Barnes and crew cast its spell on their young acolytes. Of course, it's easy to fall for the fun times, but you also have to dig into their lyrics, where Kevin expresses in no plain English many of same feelings, with the same passion as his listeners. From our vantage upstairs at the Fillmore, the fans ate it up.



Still, the introspection couldn't overshadow the buoyant encore in which they strung together a bunch of their most upbeat songs (I recognized "Gallery Piece"!). It's one of the oldest rules in show biz: Leave 'em wanting more. Of Montreal certainly did.

I first saw Deerhoof at the Sonic Youth-curated version of All Tomorrow's Parties at UCLA in 2002. Maybe I'll admit to more of my shortsightedness at this festival in future posts, but I can confess Deerhoof didn't make a good impression on me at that show. Since then, Deerhoof has been all over the place, and they've even nurtured a relationship with that band I love.



Unbeknownst to me, they've been rocking it out too! The guy seated behind us compared Greg Saunier to a Muppet, based on his propulsive drumming moves. I fully endorse that comment, but their guitarwork was nothing to scoff at either. I've been a fool to miss them for all this time, especially considering their local base, and I won't make that mistake again. Also, their shout-outs to both the Fillmore and to Of Montreal were adorable.

The very first performer of the evening was Kishi Bashi, another local talent who also happened to show up again in Of Montreal. At first, he gave off a strong Andrew Bird vibe, with his use of the violin and loopers, as well as an operatic scope to his songs. But when he started beatboxing, you knew that you should've checked your expectations earlier.

See also:
» really quite out of sight
» first-time high
» everybody's gotta learn sometimes
» still carries a torch

still carries a torch

Back on the horse--several concerts are on the schedule for next week, so expect more reports (as soon as I can write them, anyway). First up, the Nels Cline Singers return to San Francisco!

Nels Cline Singers, Cafe du Nord, November 19, 2008: I frequently mix up my Nels Cline shows, especially when some of the touring lineups comprise the Singers in all but name. Then again, this confusion wouldn't be possible without the embarrassment of opportunities I get to see these musicians--so no complaints here.

I gotta admit, though, that despite the Singers' frequent appearances, I still feel like a complete fraud when I talk about their gigs. But I'll try to offer the 30,000-foot view of the show and what details I can recall after a weekend filled with other people's tunes.

After seeing so many permutations of the group, I had almost forgotten what the three Singers--Nels, Scott Amendola, and Devin Hoff--were capable of on their own. Well, almost--Greg and Satomi from Deerhoof joined them on the first couple of tracks, though their contributions were on the conservative side, encompassing a dusting of percussion and a whisper of vocals. Nels explained that with the first selection, "Boogie Woogie Waltz," he simply wanted to bring together Deerhoof and '70s jazz fusion, but the second track, "Suspended Head" was a more studied choice, as he had dedicated it to the very band on the Instrumentals CD.



I have a majorly cred-destroying (work with me, people) story about the first time I saw Deerhoof play at All Tomorrow's Parties on the UCLA campus, but I'm not going to share it now. Let's just say that despite my early impressions of the band, even I knew it was pretty unusual for both them and Nels to be in town on the same night, so I was glad to see them come together in this tiny club.

Perhaps my favorite song of the night came during the first set: "Thurston County," from Nels's upcoming solo record, out in February 2009. As Nels explained it, it was the name of a real place, and listening to the more laid-back passages in the tune brought to mind the exhilaration of a crisp, clear drive up the Northern California coast. That track's a winner.

The Singers' second set kicked off with a hubbub that Nels admitted wasn't exactly what they had planned. If memory serves me correctly, he may have cited Godzilla as a factor in the number's lurching coda. In fact, Nels displayed a goofy energy all night, even through the more volatile numbers the trio is capable of carrying off. So though we would hear a stately Andrew Hill selection, as well as Nels's somber "Stela for Jefferson," I can't say the show's tone dipped at all, even as the music took us to the extremes of artistic expression.

See also:
» shady
» ascension