When: 7/10
Where: Cameo
I first heard the name
Dinowalrus ages ago, probably well before I even started this blog. I didn't get around to listening until about six months ago, when the band e-mailed me a song. I listened to that song and my feelings on it were so neutral that I lost what interest I had (despite the band being named after a hybrid of two very badass critters).
It recently occurred to me, however, that this might be just the kind of band I need to hear live to appreciate. So I arrived early to Cameo to catch their set, and I can't begin to tell you how glad I am that I did.
Now, I know I've said about a handful of drummers that they were among the best I'd ever seen, so let me be perfectly clear - none of the drummers I've ever mentioned on this blog could hold a candle to Josh (I dunno his last name). He wasn't always in the band and it's kind of hard to imagine them before his arrival, because while the other two members are talented, his playing is what sets the band far ahead of its peers. It's not only the speed and complexity with which he plays, nor is it just the rich sounds he pulls out of his drums, it's the absolutely brilliant beats he uses. Few rock drummers even attempt syncopation and polyrhythm and most who do fall flat; it's extremely rare to find a drummer in rock music for whom breakbeats are second nature.
Dinowalrus (photo by Ted Gordon)The other two band members aren't far behind in terms of technical skill. Their metalloid riffs, noise-rock freakouts and electropop grooves combine seamlessly. The wildman chemistry between Josh and guitarist/vocalist Pete Feigenbaum is explosive, while Kyle (again of indeterminate last name) has a calm, grounding presence on stage. Still, his steady concentration on his simultaneous bass and synth parts is anything but tame - after all, sometimes quiet insanity can be the most captivating.
I still have no real desire to listen to Dinowalrus on record - their lack of structure does not mix well with my lack of concentration. But I will be checking them out live as often as possible. Starting
tonight at Cake Shop with Abe Vigoda. And know if you miss this show, you will have to live with that shame for the rest of you life.
[MySpace]I recently reviewed Little Girls' performance at the Woodsist Festival but it was good to hear them in a room that wasn't 105 degrees. In general, the acoustics were better except for the fact that the sound guy was asleep at the wheel - the band went most of a song without vocals and terrible feedback problems were still unresolved by the last song of the set.
Despite the hurdles, the band delivered a compelling if strange performance. The band members seem bizarrely disconnected from one another on stage - they play tightly, but with a palpable distance that fits well with the moody isolation of the music. The dramatics of frontman Josh McIntyre seem slightly put on, but his nervous energy is no doubt genuine. The dark bass riffs and reverbed, trebly guitar are fitting Joy Division-esque post punk, but there's something new here too, a genuine urgency as the young band begins to discover their own sound.
[MySpace]As for headliners
Japandroids, I can't say I was ahead of the curve on loving them - Pitchfork was all over them before I gave them a try, but for the few weeks before this show, I was listening to their new album nearly non-stop. It's pop-punk at its best - simple and raw, youthful, catchy, and loud.
I wish I hadn't seen the band live. It's not that they aren't good - in fact, the band's two members are both excellent musicians and really rock out on stage. It's just that it was disillusioning to learn that a band that
sounds so genuinely punk is really quite the opposite.
Reduced to its purest essence, punk has always been defined by its attempts to tear down the boundaries between musician and audience. Punk is the ultimate rejection of rock star idolatry. And as such, it's everything Japandroids are not. Guitarist Brian King soundchecked by moaning a pseudo-melody into the microphone for five minutes straight. Now, to be clear, King has an adequate voice, but despite his obvious conviction to the contrary, not one of remarkable beauty in any way.
The band members are older than I expected, given the adolescent sound of their music and lyrics. That in itself is not really a problem, but the band's blatant rockstar posing - including, hand to God, a fan positioned to give King's curls that windswept look - belies their innocent-sounding songs and that innocent-looking photo on the front of their album. These aren't exuberant young kids just trying to have fun, these are pop-idol wannabes.
Even the way they spoke to the audience between songs was condescending - they explained that they would be playing songs other than those from their recent album in order to play a decent-length set. Now, I applaud playing a good long set, but the band didn't have to explain that they'd be playing songs we might not know - I mean, assuming we all know all the songs on their album, assuming that we're all so unfamiliar with the ways of rock bands as to need some explanation for the set list, assuming there is a fundamental difference between them (rock stars) and us (fans).
That Japandroids have an attitude fundamentally opposed to everything punk stands for, that they are co-opting punk music to achieve the same ends as any contestant on American Idol, that they would rather be Elvis Presley than Johnny Rotten - none of this changes the fact that
Post-Nothing is one of the best releases of 2009. What the show shattered was the hope that it might also be one of the year's most inspiring. Yeah, they're good, but kids, no matter what Japandroids say,
DO try this at home.
