Caught the Deerhunter show last night at Club Lambi. Another band that is apparently very popular right now, that I hadn’t really listened to before heading out to see the show. Alright!
The openers were Jay Reatard, and The Ponies. Jay Reatard played, a hard, fast, and loud punk set - screaming the name of each song, bashing it out in two minutes, and moving on to the next one. I always like seeing punk shows, and they’re great for getting a crowd moving, but I’m always mystified that the bands are satisfied with always playing fast and loud. Some of the most interesting aspects of music to me are dynamics and tempo, and lots of punk bands seem to ignore them totally. It’s alright to play fast and loud, but if you sometimes play slowly and quietly, the fast and loud parts seem faster and louder. Anyways, that’s why I find a lot of punk unsatisfying, but it’s great to see a band just let rip as well.
The Ponies played some shimmery indie rock, sort of like the Cure crossed with the Strokes. I really liked the jangly sound of their guitars - I think it’s some sort of rotary amp effect.
Deerhunter played a fairly short (under an hour), but intense set. They describe themselves as “ambient punk”, which seems fairly apt - pounding drums and bass guitar, spacy, echoey, guitars, and high-pitched, ethereal vocals. They wavered between creating lush, feed-back-filled soundscapes, and just rocking out.
I’m starting to really enjoy more ambient music - I’d always shied away from it before, given that the main things that usually attract me to a piece of music are the lyrics and melody, which most ambient music distinctly lacks. And looking up that Wikipedia link, I found a great quote from Brian Eno: ambient music can be “actively listened to with attention or as easily ignored, depending on the choice of the listener” - that’s sort of how I feel about it. I enjoy ignoring it. Or, rather, I liked letting my mind wander while the band played. So maybe the set just seemed shorter than it actually was, since I was a bit checked out, but it was definitely a good time.
One last thing. I really like the venue the show was at, Club Lambi: it’s close to my house, so I can pre-drink there with friends, and stumble home easily after the show. Also, it’s really easy to hang out outside between acts, because you can hear when the bands actually start playing and get back inside.
The openers were Jay Reatard, and The Ponies. Jay Reatard played, a hard, fast, and loud punk set - screaming the name of each song, bashing it out in two minutes, and moving on to the next one. I always like seeing punk shows, and they’re great for getting a crowd moving, but I’m always mystified that the bands are satisfied with always playing fast and loud. Some of the most interesting aspects of music to me are dynamics and tempo, and lots of punk bands seem to ignore them totally. It’s alright to play fast and loud, but if you sometimes play slowly and quietly, the fast and loud parts seem faster and louder. Anyways, that’s why I find a lot of punk unsatisfying, but it’s great to see a band just let rip as well.
The Ponies played some shimmery indie rock, sort of like the Cure crossed with the Strokes. I really liked the jangly sound of their guitars - I think it’s some sort of rotary amp effect.
Deerhunter played a fairly short (under an hour), but intense set. They describe themselves as “ambient punk”, which seems fairly apt - pounding drums and bass guitar, spacy, echoey, guitars, and high-pitched, ethereal vocals. They wavered between creating lush, feed-back-filled soundscapes, and just rocking out.
I’m starting to really enjoy more ambient music - I’d always shied away from it before, given that the main things that usually attract me to a piece of music are the lyrics and melody, which most ambient music distinctly lacks. And looking up that Wikipedia link, I found a great quote from Brian Eno: ambient music can be “actively listened to with attention or as easily ignored, depending on the choice of the listener” - that’s sort of how I feel about it. I enjoy ignoring it. Or, rather, I liked letting my mind wander while the band played. So maybe the set just seemed shorter than it actually was, since I was a bit checked out, but it was definitely a good time.
One last thing. I really like the venue the show was at, Club Lambi: it’s close to my house, so I can pre-drink there with friends, and stumble home easily after the show. Also, it’s really easy to hang out outside between acts, because you can hear when the bands actually start playing and get back inside.
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