Dirty Projectors/Polar Bear Mint Lounge 01/04/09

So the last gig I went to I turned up at 9 and the band I wanted to see weren't on until 11...ballache so I turned up at 8.40 at Mint Lounge last night and first band I see are Polar Bear who are supposedly headlining plus it was the other two bands I wanted to see most of all! A quick investigation tells me that they've switched around and while I've missed the promising Lucky Dragons the Dirty Projectors are on after the imminent Polar Bear.


A quick tour of the band...Big silver sax is played by a guy that's Ade from TVOTR twin (not really), the dull bronze sax is the guy in the 1920's gangster film with the rat like features and a propensity for knife fights. The guy on the upright bass is Nick Frost with a beard, the guitarist is a 12 year old stoner and the drummer has a face full of apologies holding up a mountain of wild hair. First song is a rowsing and bawdry cocktail of mambo latin moves and roaring jazz hooks. Every member of the band seems to be adding odd lines that individually don't do much but collectively spin the entire tune on it's head. The whole thing's on the very edge of turning into an improv mess but it's just wonderfully and masterfully kept in line. Next up is a more brooding jazz ballad, reminiscent of Mingus' concept pieces and early Tortoise in places it's a touch Western a little bit cowboy..it's been a long time since I've heard the saxophone played this beautifully...the 12 year old stoner kid is playing his guitar with a paint brush, just tickling the strings, creating a shimmering background. Then he's obviously bored so for the next song swaps paintbrush guitar for a playstation joypad which triggers an insane collection of bleeps, whirs, glitchs and whooshs that underpin the frantic jazz that's played over the top.

Soon enough stoner boy swaps again. This time for a pink balloon which he blows up and grabs the neck of. Balloon boy squeeks it into the microphone along with the sax's. Gradually the instruments drop out leaving one sax and the balloon squeeker honking along to each other. After about 8 minutes of this I decide it's time for a smoke.

Going to gigs on yer own is an interesting experience..voyeuristic, awkward and liberating. Having left the Polar Bear balloon boys to it I returned apres tabac into the no mans land of band change over...trying to afirm the constant "I'm here alone; that's not weird it's cool" vibe that lingers around you but then again the types of people who go to gigs on their own are always a little bit geeky, a bit sad a bit needy. Well that's me!



Dirty Projectors are massive Talking Heads fans that's pretty obvious. The guy singing and playing guitar has mastered David Byrnes tall awkwardness to a tea, his vocal imitation isn't bad either. The three girls are playing basses, guitars and keys and do a fantastic set of vocal harmonies that really steal the show. From right to left the girls go...bit fat and plain, cute but a bit witchy, uberhot cool chick!! While the format isn't anything new, the mix of slightly afro pop guitar lines, art infused lyrics and driving bass and drums leads me to the cul-de-sac of comparison; Arcade Fire meets Vampire Weekend, but edgier and better. There's still (and i blame the contingent of women for this) something a bit twee about them though and they never seem to fully let go, always holding back a little. There were definitely moments of brilliance, but I somehow expected more from this years SXSW buzz band!