When: 5/20
Where: Studio Maya
This has got to be one of the strangest shows I've ever been to. Organized by experimental psychedelic shoegaze band So L'il (aka Gracefully), the show was in a well-lit studio space in Prospect Heights that I'd never seen or heard of before.
So L'il took the stage first but joined forces with R&B/hip-hop trio Booboniks for form a new group, Solilian von Boobonika, a.k.a. S.V.B. I wasn't sure if they'd be able to pull it off, but they did and it was awesome. So L'il played their usual layered, ambient psychedelia, and somehow it meshed perfectly with Precious's soulful singing and Booboniks' slick hip-hop beats to form some of the most innovative music I've heard in quite a while.
The only weakness in the performance was the contrast between the two vocal styles - So L'il's Sharon's dreamy, reverbed vocals were too far afield from the forceful R&B pipes on Booboniks' Precious. There were a few moments where it worked, but the jarring difference between the two women's voices was mostly just awkward. Regardless, it's impossible to deny the amount of talent in S.V.B. See for yourself: here's a video from the show.
I've wanted to see Chicago shoegazers Panda Riot for years, but they don't come to town very often. The group's very gazy-gauzy guitars blend with electronica and it's all held together by the dreamy indie-pop vocals of Rebecca Scott (who also plays keys and guitar). Across from her, guitarist/founding member Brian Cook and bassist Justin Cheng stood awkwardly close to each other and while they did seem to spend a lot of time admiring their own feet (as the genre's name would imply), they also moved a lot. Center stage, the more manic Jose Rodriguez supplemented the band's drum machine beats with a snare, tom and cymbal. Although his stage presence was the most energetic, all four pandas seemed to be having a blast.
It's impossible to say what makes this band great. Each element just works: Cook's pitch-bending wall of guitar sound, Cheng's dry, trip-hoppy bass lines, Scott's spacey, melodic singing, the drum machine's slick, trip-hoppy beats and Rodriguez's more earthy drumming. The band played many of my favorite songs of theirs and plenty I didn't recognize, all gorgeous, electrogaze dream-pop numbers played with joy and care. Here's a live video from a different show.
The third band of the night was one Electric Djinn, which featured primarily members of the long inactive band Lumipad. They are an odd odd odd band. The members, who skew considerably older than the other bands, seem genuinely insane. The front person (who was not standing in the front) was a striking woman behind a keyboard who less sang than melodically incanted. Indeed, it felt more like performance or even ritual than simply a concert.
There was one woman dressed in black, seated in a folding chair and facing perpendicular to the audience. She was adjusting a small electronic device throughout the performance (it looked like a wireless router) but seemed entirely disengaged from the band. It was as though she'd been sitting on the chair playing with this device forever and when a band just happened to set itself up around her, they were invisible to her (and her to them). It was cool, but weird.
Musically, the band combined a wealth of obscure influences. There was some free jazz, especially via a trombone, ambient electronica, psychedelia to the point of prog rock (if not in sound, then in attitude) and abstracted krautrock. Reference points could include Art Bears/Henry Cow, Red Crayola, King Crimson, Zappa, Neu!, Brian Eno, John Cage, Albert Ayler....well, if you know those bands, you get the drift. If you don't, just think head(y) avant-garde, psychedelic electronica meets LSD-decimated performance art. In a good way.
I missed the last band cause I weren't feelin well. Sorry Season Finale....
Showing posts with label Panda Riot. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Panda Riot. Show all posts
Friday, May 27, 2011
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Upcoming Shows: Buzzcocks, Public Image Ltd + more
TONIGHT!!! Thursday, May 13
The Buzzcocks @ The Fillmore * Union Square, Manhattan * $35
Um, hello? It's the Buzzcocks. One of the top four original UK punk bands. Then again, it's $35.
Big Troubles, My Teenage Stride, Knight School @ Death By Audio * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $7
These three bands have two things in common - they write great, catchy pop songs and they are noisy. MTS are the most conventional "twee" influenced group of the three. They play tightly but their songs are charmingly dorky. Knight School write amazing little pop tunes and soak them in some distortion and fuzz. Big Trouble are a little more rock'n'roll, with a heftier sound - actually, a sheer roar. Three bands for the price of one. And a great venue to top it off! [bt myspace] [mts myspace] [kf myspace]
Panda Riot @ Lit Lounge * East Village, Manhattan * $6
I don't normally advertise shows at Lit Lounge because the acoustics are horrible and the space is small and poorly managed. But Panda Riot are a really great shoegaze band that come all the way from Chicago and this is our big chance to see what they can do live. [myspace]
Tomorrow! Friday, May 14
Silver Apples, Oneida @ Abrons Art Center * LES, Manhattan * $15/$20
Silver Apples were a super obscure wacked out band in the 60's who really pioneered the use of synthesizers and were a precursor to every synth duo ever. They don't normally exist anymore, so this is a rare thing. Oneida play trance-inducing rhythmic music that doesn't really excite me that much but a lot of people think it's good. [sa myspace] [oneida myspace]
Talk Normal, Asa Ransom, Miniboone @ Glasslands * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $8
Seriously, you would be hard put to find three more different bands in New York. But they do have one thing in common - they are all great. And since Deli Magazine is highlighting the best bands in NYC, they picked well. Miniboone play large-scale, old-school pop with punk rock energy. Asa Ransom make dark, rhythmic dance punk. Talk Normal are pretty avant garde, with drones and pounding and rants. They are both ladies. (The other bands are all fellows.) [tn myspace] [ar myspace] [mini myspace]
Saturday, May 15
Parts & Labor, Talk Normal @ Knitting Factory * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $10
Parts & Labor are super loud. They make slamming, skull shattering noise with guitars and electronics and distortion. But winding through this soundscape are stunningly beautiful melodies any pop fan would love. Talk Normal, I already explained about (see above). [pl myspace]
The Vandelles, El Jezel @ Cameo * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $10
The Vandelles play feedback but every second of feedback is tied into high-energy classic pop-rock gems. I haven't heard El Jezel in forever, but if I recall their influences are shoegaze and a little post-rock and lots of regular old cool, melodic indie rock. I could be wrong, though, it's been a while. [vandelles myspace] [ej myspace]
Aa, True Womanhood, These Are Powers @ Secret Project Robot * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * $10
Aa are an NYC mainstay of highly percussive, throbbing-beat music you have to dance (or head-bob) to. True Womanhood, well, they sound like Radiohead. Rhythmically off-kilter songs with spooky guitar. These Are Powers have the same throbbing-beat thing but are not nearly as good. I think they were aiming to fill a certain niche, but someone much better beat them to it. Still, should be a fun night, especially if you like to move. [aa myspace] [tw myspace] [tap myspace]
Mahogany @ Open Road Rooftop (Rooftop Films) * LES, Manhattan * $10
Mahogany, masters of noise pop and decade-long veterans of indie music, will be playing on a roof on the Lower East Side before a movie is screened on that same roof. Nice! [myspace]
Sunday, May 16
Silver Apples @ Coco 66 * Greenpoint, Brooklyn
A show that I'm guessing will be cheaper than Friday's and a little less weird (the other features a light show), I suppose I'd recommend catching Silver Apples (see above) here instead.
Tuesday, May 17
Public Image Ltd @ Terminal 5 * Midtown, Manhattan * $40
Don't go to this show to hear seminal post punk band Public Image Ltd - it's Terminal 5 and I promise you won't be able to hear anything. Go to this show to be in the same room as John Lydon a.k.a. Johnny Rotten. I need to touch him. [myspace]
The long view...
May
19
Public Image Ltd @
Diana Ross @ Radio City Music Hall
21
Fuck Buttons @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
22
Fuck Buttons @ Le Poisson Rouge
New York Dolls @ Warsaw
NYC PopFest: Wake, Boat, My Teenage Stride + more @ Bell House
27
Forgetters @ Bell House
28
Holy Fuck @ Le Poisson Rouge
29
Psych Fest: Weird Owl (yay), Hopewell (blech), Golden Triangle (blech), Psychic Ills (yay), Sunburned Hand of the Man (yay) + more @ Glasslands
June
4
Psychedelic Furs @ the Fillmore
6
Brian Jonestown Massacre @ Webster Hall
18
Melvins + Isis @ Webster Hall
Woven Bones @ Mercury Lounge
24
Wavves @ Knitting Factory
July
24
M.I.A. @ Governors Island
30
Big Takeover: Springhouse @ Bell House
31
Big Takeover: Springhouse, For Against @ Bell House
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Album: Panda Riot - She Dares All Things
Album: She Dares All Things
Self-Released, 2007/2008
Rating: ******** (8/10)
I try to focus on new releases in this review, but I didn’t have a chance to write this one up in a timely manner, since it came out well before I started the site. And I really want to write it up anyway, because I’m pretty damn sure you’re going to love it.
If you are a fan of My Bloody Valentine, it’s easy to describe Panda Riot: you know that last song on Loveless? Well, that’s what they sound like. If that doesn't mean anything to you, imagine the main shoegaze hallmarks – fuzzed-out guitars, dense walls of sound, understated vocals, notes bending in and out of pitch and ungodly amount of reverb – all of that, plus a dancey, trip-hop inspired beat. Yeah, it’s pretty awesome.
Panda Riot obviously isn’t the first band to incorporate these elements, but they are, without a doubt, one of the best bands of the bunch. Most praiseworthy are their solid waves of guitar, which could easily knock a shoegazer off his gazed-at feet. The vocals are simple and mixed low, but they are confident and most of the time, they propel the songs forward very well.
It’s not a perfect album, but most of the problems come not from anything bad, but rather from missed opportunities. The band could definitely benefit from using more dynamic and self-standing bass lines. Most importantly, they could improve their use of rhythm in all parts. That includes the drum-machine-generated beats, which tend to use pretty conventional patterns. It also includes the guitar, vocals and bass, when seem a little over-infatuated with quarter-notes. In some cases, steady 4/4 rhythms are charming, but in others, they just feel like lost potential.
As with most shoegaze, the music is a bit formless on both the album level and the song level, but it still maintains a poppy feel that will hold your attention. And sure, there are some unmemorable songs on the album - but for the most part, Panda Riot achieves good variety, some songs heavier and fuller, some more electronic, some with more open space, some with more emphasis on the vocals.
All in all, it’s an impressive album and even a valuable contribution to the shoegaze/trip-hop genre. Pop-accessible but experimental, catchy but thoughtful, it’s music just about anyone could enjoy.
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