Quarterlifeparty

(Note: If your reading this in RSS, there are pictures from the show in the post)

We somehow mustered the energy to go out on a cold Monday night to catch Video Hippos and HEALTH at Sonar on Monday night, although it was tough to peel myself off the warm comfort of my couch. There were 2 other “bands” beforehand including Smart Growth, a Girl-Talk’ish DJ from Baltimore, and Ed Schrader, something that I can’t really describe (punk spoken word tribal comedy – punspworbaldy?). When the night ended I don’t think anyone left disappointed.

It began with some witty onstage banter from Smart Growth as he asked an audience member a question “Are you a freshman?” and then when he answered, Growth explained “Ok, I don’t usually do this audience interaction thing” as he went into a song. His mixing is good, it’s definitely in a similar vein as Girltalk, only not as ADD and less poppy. He was mixing in some old 80’s tunes with hip-hop with some nice effects. The only problem I had was the constant drum & bass beat behind the songs that seemed to never let up and lacked dynamics. It would have been nice to hear some more starting and stopping, some simple beats mixed in with the overpowering bass boom. To his right, Growth had a video artist superimposing layers and layers of animated gifs on the screen (I can’t seem to remember her alias, so if anyone does please add it in the comments). It was fun to watch along with the music as the pulses in the video would sometimes put you in a trance, but after seeing the same thing over and over again, it got a little old, but the potential is there.

Smart Growth – Draped Up Oxed Out

Next up, crazy kid Ed Schraeder, who banged a drum, screamed, and pretty much had a comedy show in-between and during the songs. Full of non-sequitors about myspace, computers and transvestites, the show’s entertaining factor never let up. Halfway through the set I was thinking, “this guy needs a band” and at the end he sang a song with video-hippos, it was almost Tom Waitts meets Wham City meets punk.

Next Up. Video Hippos. I had heard some bad reviews of this bands live show, probably people who had never seen them before, so I went in skeptical and absolutely loved them from the beginning. It’s a nice sonic wash of eighties influenced guitar riffs and a little bit of that new electro-punk (like the death set). It’s interesting how they use the sampled beats in the videos to construct the songs, but I also wonder if that is limiting for them too. I always like to think that a band could extend a song longer if they wished, but overall it did not disappoint. Dan Deacon seemed to enjoy it as well as he, at one point, moved people back from the band as they were stepping on the cords to the video projector and generally spazzing out ala Death Set’s crowd. I also must give a quick shout out to the drummer who was impressive in his back-to-the-audience drum pounding, especially in the last song.

Video Hippos – Narwhals

On to HEALTH, who blew our minds when they played Ottobar earlier in the year opening for Crystal Castles. They did not disappoint this time around either, despite some technical difficulties (although I imagine they blow amps often). These guys go crazy on stage and always look ready to pass out by the end (I guess that is why they call themselves HEALTH). The set begins with them huddled quietly around the drummer, and then they jarringly explode into fits of screaming before going into the song. The bass player has a great move of stabbing the amplifier with the microphone. With the right effects it has a great intimidating robotic machine sound, which he also matches on his bass. Three songs in, he breaks a bass string, and I don’t see him play it again until the end of the set. I wonder if he just improvised or if the songs just didn’t call for it. It was interesting to hear some new songs from this band, as they were less experimental although no less intense. They are a far way off, but they have the talent and the sound to be a band similar to a band like Tool if they were to tighten up that experimentation. Not exactly like them but in the same wheelhouse of somewhat psychedelic, experimental, hardcore music.

HEALTH – Tabloid Sores

 

 

 

Tags: Uncategorized , ed schrader , health , smart growth , sonar , video hippos