Deerhoof @ Deaf Institute 29/06/09

It's baking hot and I'm slumped on the couch watching Andy Murray make hard work of beating some eastern european chap. I manage to drag my sweaty self upright and into town as tonight is Deerhoof night.

The San Diego based four piece have fast become one of my favourite bands their inventive and angular guitar music has been a revelation over the past few months on my mp3 player (poor mans ipod) so I'm really looking forward to tonight. Trouble is it's so damn hot I can barely muster the enthusiasm to raise a sweaty fist into the air.

Walking up the stairs at the deaf institute can be an insufferable chore and I often find myself longingly looking at the disabled chair lift and thinking "if only.." but I somehow manage to drag myself up there and hand over my crumpled and slightly damp (it's been in my jeans pocket and its really hot ..ok??) ticket and see the dreaded "SOLD OUT" sign. Which essentially means it's going to be very busy and very warm. What I wasn't expecting though as I stepped into the marvellous Deaf Institute top room was the daylight streaming through the glass ceiling. The normal murky world of pre gig ambling around was now given a spotlight of illumination and I felt suddenly very vunerable I mean ...people can see me. It gives the place a bit of a youth club vibe. Lots of folk just standing around, there's no dark corners for a lonesome gig goer to go and lurk in so I barge my way to the bar and then out onto the terrace for a welcome blast of fresh air.

Finally Punk are the middle band, I've managed to miss the first band because my gig arrival time is now almost perfect. Finally Punk come from Los Angeles they tell us, explaining that they're on tour with Sticks (the first band). They consist of four rather wholesome if slightly kooky looking girls. Their first number is a off kilter yapping punk track and then the singer and guitarist swap places. I'm thinking, throughout the second song, that it's a bit weird to have a non-singer singing your first track but then for the third song they all swap again so the drummer is now singing, bassist on guitar, singer on drums and guitarist on bass...confused?? Well I was especially as it seemed that none of them were really much cop on any instrument! The pattern continues and inbetween every song we're treated to a mini merry-go-round of instruments. I find it painful watching people play guitar when they obviously can't. It's the wrists that get me, the cacky right wrist and the awkward grasp of the plectrum. Strumming a guitar with a hand the shape of an arthritic claw is never gonna sound good. Unfortunately Finally Punk don't either.

I love Jad Fair, I love Half Japanese. I played a show with him once and he's a real swell guy. I've derived much much pleasure from lo-fi bands who hold ideas above musical ability but I don't get this naive rock bullshit anymore. There is no "so bad it's good" in music, I don't follow the Emperors new clothes line (clothes line Arf Arf) at all. What sounds shit, i find, is generally shit. Having said all that I started to spot where perhaps the original line up was. The last few tracks seemed tighter and had a better groove. I noticed the girl who started singing was now on drums and she seemed to be playing a proper beat, the bassist seemed to be able to play without glaring at the neck and to be fair all four of them delivered their post-punk yappy lyrics quite well. Alas, none of them were guitarists. Towards the end of the gig they mention this is their first time in Manchester and how they drove into manchester singing Smiths songs, but they play the "Oh my god we're like so geeky we were singing Smiths songs" card a bit heavy and it's all a bit too Legally Blonde for me.




So the make up of Deerhoof is this...Satomi Matsuzaki is the japanese bassist and married to self taught guitarist John Dieterich, band leader seems to be the affable Greg Saunier on drums and finally the newest member is Ed Rodriguez. That's the back story, I think it's important because there's so much chemistry on stage it's really quite infectious. They start of with a weird choice 'Chatterboxes' which I thought was a bit of a non-event to open up with. In fact, and maybe it's the heat, the first three or four numbers are curiously slow burners. Eventually the gurning from Saunier and Rodriguez's taunting of Satomi finally seem to lure the band into life. Saunier's kit is reduced to a couple of drums and a massive high hat (with plastic bag dampner!) and eventually his long arms and legs begin flailing around.

There's no "O'malley, former Underdog" in tonights set but the brilliant "Spirit Ditties of No Tone" kicks the night up a gear with Satomi dancing her way through songs and occasionally plucking a bass note. She trades the bass with her husband for a song and there's an amusing bit when she spends a few minutes wiping his sweat off her beloved Hofner bass, she then sets about wiping him down, it's cute. Then she's on top of an amp with a whistle singing and acting out a song about a girl who doesn't have enough money to pay the train fare. There's something very Japanese about her (I guess that'd be the being Japanese part) but what I'm thinking is if she acted like this and was English it'd be quite annoying and cutesy whereas it seems cool and cutesy!! Oh those cute crazy Japs eh!! God!!



The biggest cheers of the night come for tracks from the bands last album "Offend Maggie". A brilliant album that is possibly marred by a few too many tracks. But tonight "Tears of Music and Love", "Snoopy Waves" and "Fresh Born" are all fantastic. They make me realise how special they are, there's just something about they way they write songs that's very original and fresh. Plus I think Dieterich and Rodriguez are formidable guitar duo. Satomi requests all the lights to be turned off and then runs back on stage with a day glo mini basket ball and they jerk into "Basketball get your groove back" a bizarre if totally ace track about rabbits and Basketball "Bunny jump Bunny jump Bunny jump" go the lyrics.

Satomi is spinning around and Rodriguez follows suit, the impression that's obvious is that this band love playing and hanging out together.I don't think I've seen a band smile so much on stage. The two of them start following each other around the stage holding their instruments in the air and flying them around the stage like planes. Satomi spins around and accidentally cracks Ed Rodriguez on the back with her bass. He falls on the floor in mock pain and then in slow motion acts out smashing his guitar over Satomis head then it turns into a slow motion guitar smash up session the three of them mockingly throwing guitars at each other even drummer Saunier gets in on the act waving his arms around and then tinkling the cymbal and then ghost hitting it. Had to be their I guess, It was funny if only because you could tell they didn't care, this wasn't rehearsed stage craft this was four loons playing music and having fun on a balmy summers night.

For the ubiquitous encore they swap instruments around and unlike Finally Punk prove that they can all actually play. Drummer Saunier takes lead guitar and vocals for a brilliantly chilled out version of Canned Heats "Going Up The Country". I'm exhausted I want to enthuse more but I'm drained, stick a fork in me!

White Denim @ Ruby Lounge

Calling all hipsters!! Last years SXSW was dominated by the emergence of Texas's own White Denim the three pieces blistering live sets seemed to capture audiences right across the board and after checking all the relevant blogs and downloading what tunes were available (illegally..oh yeah!)i had to wait almost a year for their debut album "Workout Holiday" finally emerged. Even after having the albums best tracks hammered on my MP3 player for the past year the albums 'album tracks' still provided a decent listen and more than a hint of the ambiguity in the bands musical direction.

Initial listens to their follow up album 'Fits' didn't blow me away so it was with much mixed apprehension that I set out for tonights gig!! You'll be glad to know that I managed to arrive at venue on time and in one piece. What I first noticed was that virtually everyone I spotted within the first few minutes of entering the venue was in a band, ran a label or a club night or did press for bands..it was totally fucking scene in their and obviously I slotted in like a dog in wig turning up to a Megan Fox lookalike contest.

The support band were half way through their set when I arrived. To be honest I wasn't really listening to them. If I could remember their name I'd probably try and catch them again (presuming they were local which I think they were!)

White Denim came on stage at 9.15...Now that's a cracking gig time for midweek non of this dicking about after midnight mularky here. With any luck I might be able get back for last few minutes of USA dumping Spain out of the Confederation Cup ( I didn't btw). They are a three piece of conventional nature; drums, bass and guitar but that's where the usual conventions end. The guitarist chuggs out a few piercing lead lines, loops them, and then off they go and when they do the room is literally shaking. I'm stood near the PA so it's loud but this is really loud and I'm straining to see what's going on stage. The deafening din seems to whisper a melody that I faintly recognise as from the first album. Guitarist and bassist are jumping around wailing into their mics. Drummer is set in the middle, front of stage..best place for a drummer that I think.



Five minutes in i realise they're playing "Let's Talk about it" and they've just meandered from one song to the next and then while I'm contemplating that they drift seamlessly into "Shake Shake Shake". The band are equal measure tight and sloppy...the melodies sound all over the shop and I can see the guitarist is almost laughing his way through what on the album was intricate lead lines and are now fuzzy, trebly squeals. To counter that together as a band they are so tight. Songs that seem a maddening noise stop and start abruptly. Guitar and bass drop out leaving the drummer pounding along, both guitar and bass player stand watching waiting for some unheard signal and then launch along with him. It's loud and frantic but most of all I'm struck by how much fun they seem to be having. Not bothered with playing the right notes or singing the right words it seems to be about the energy and they've certainly got it. This "first number" which seems to be a medley of sorts of most of the first album lasts for almost 30 minutes when they finally pause to wipe the pouring sweat from their faces.

"Thanks a lot for coming out see ya later" the drummer quips, but I'm thinking that past half hour was more exciting than most things I've seen. They blast through a few more tracks the headband wearing guitarist is soaked in sweat but it's the chinese guy in front of me who catches my eye for two reasons! First of all his moshing causes his sweat to fly in my face, and then he's just moshing too slow..well at half speed or maybe I'm tapping my foot at double speed anyway just as I'm getting into a track he get's into it to and he's moshing at half the speed I'm tapping my foot and ......well..it's really off putting...I dunno why! But he's ruining it ok?? And his girlfriend is doing that "I'm trying really hard to look like I'm into this" thing with massive over the top dance moves that aren't really called for. In any case it wouldn't be a proper review if I didn't sulk at some banal shit would it??



The White denim sound...I dunno I hate describing what bands sound like...(why bother writing this then??) but it's a mash of white boy blues, liquer and adrenalin. When I say white boy blues I'm not talking about some purist like Rory Gallagher more along a pissed up Keef backed by a pissed up Cream...oh I dunno...There's bits that remind me of Hendrix and parts that sound like the Minutemen. "Heart From Us All" and "All you really have to do" great songs in their own right but tonight amongst the fury the way they suddenly break down layering space with some fantastically original melody's well it's working on me. There's always a problem with bands that receive massive hype but tonight is one of them nights when you realise that sometimes what people describe as hype is just people telling other people "Hey..you should check this out..it's fucking ace" and to be honest there's really nothing wrong with that!!

They finish tonight with instrumental "WDA" from the first album. The guitarist seems to fluff virtually every riff but he doesn't seem to care and to be honest I don't think anyone else does either. My heads pounding by the time I get home. You heard the hype about White Denim?? Yeah fucking ace band!!

Dan Deacon 03/06/09 Club Academy

Here we go again. Miraculously bus comes without incident and I'm there in good time..it's sort of like all the past trials and tribulations have given me an acquired knowledge and wisdom...is it that I'm learning from past tragedies?? could be.

So get there without incident for Future Islands, who take a while to figure out. Fat geezer on bass, skinny lad on samples and keys and it takes me a good few minutes to decide that the chubber singing ISN'T Jack Black. He very nearly could be...but he isn't. He's throwing himself about the stage like a loon though and despite his fat-guy-with-a-massive-sweat-on appearence he's intelligent and charasmatic enough between songs to make me like him. I think i'll spend the morning checking them out on myspace. "This is what I think it feels like to be in love" he says about the last song and its full of super cheerful keyboard lines bordering on cheesy happy hardcore yet there's still plenty of charm in there despite him flicking his sweat into the crowd ...who actually seem to be lapping it up.

Dan Deacon is a bit of a weird one. Solo artist, I keep hearing the word electro used describing him. Isn't electro like funkmaster farley..I don't know...anyhow his psychedelic synth based pop music is really great if completely nuts. Last album Bromst is a composite of a zillion ideas crammed into insanely catchy if sometimes irritating tunes. Usually he forgoes the stage and prefers to set up his table of gadgets, synths and pedals right in the 'mosh pit' but tonight he's with his ensemble.

Ambling onto stage is a fat guy who strolls up and tells three jokes I can only remember the last "what's beethovens favourite fruit?" Ba-na-na-naaaa..yeah ok the second joke was funnier but I forget that now. He asks if anyone else has a joke and some guy actually does the "2 guys walk into a bar...you'd a thought one of them would have seen it" joke. Groans and moans indicate that stand up is over for now.

Fat guy strolls to the back of the stage and takes his place with the ensemble. We have four guys stood around a table that's layered in keyboards, three drummers (one very hot girl drummer), two guitarists, a bass player and two guys on xylophones, they coulda been glockenspiels..in fact the probably were..and of course Dan Deacon who despite the trendy and hipness of his music is easily in his forties, quite fat (plenty of meat about tonight!) ginger, bearded and has huge timmy mallet style specs on. "Thank you stand up comedy of america" he says.

"Raise a hand in the air" comes the instruction from the stage and everyone in the sparsely filled room does so. "Join hands with someone, look them in the eye and say I WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN..." he begins and everyone repeats him..on and on he goes testifying about lamented love and loss and declaring passion and freedom for all....for me obviously it's slightly awkward as I'm on my own and don't have any friends. There's two guys holding hands in front of me...I don't think they'll want me to join and a couple next to me again...they don't welcome me in...they look a bit weird plus I start to spot a few other members of the awkward scene standing alone..amen brothers and sisters. On and on he goes screaming and people are screaming back or rather screaming at their partners..finally they launch into the opening number 'paddling ghost' and it's fucking awesome.



Deacons music is the product of an obviously warped mind layering on sample over sample using massive pitch effects on his voice so he's singing like a demented chipmonk..it's often hilarious, often harrowing. Tonight everything seems to be played live by the band, who absolutely nail what I'd think was unnailable, it's incredible. He's got a stand next to him atop of which is a glowing skull. There's various lights sort of similar to the vertical lights seen in animal collectives live sets. But he's also got a few normal lights on stands and he's using some mixer to switch between them. The song lurches between mental percussion parts to keyboards melody to xylophone and back again and he's triggering the lights to match and it's like we're following the action around the stage...the drummers..the keyboards...the percussion the guitarists..all lit up individually.

He seems to be having some trouble with his vocal mix so instead opts to light up the day glow skull, "Yeah well there isn't many lyrics in that song anyway" he declares. Then he jumps from the stage "Lets form a wide circle" and we do. Backs pressed against the walls we're stood in a circle around Deacon..did I mention that he and all the band are wearing white jump suits..well they are! The second song (yep only on second song) he dances around in the middle, third song he gets two people in the middle..arms spread like birds to dance with each other in the ultimate dance off. He divides the circle into two and were each routing for our side, the dancers tag others who replace them and dance off against each other..some guy trues some pretty cute moves but his ambition falters and he ends up on his ass...me I'm trying to get as far behind a big bloke as I can. I don't do the dancing.

Next up Deacon identifies the best dancer in the room and he dances alone in the centre while we copy him around the circle..taking a step closer when instructed..the song this time is the brilliant "Woof Woof" an insane keyboard portamento line that just seems to keep on building and building...closer and closer we get until everyone is stood in the middle of the room bouncing up and down...it's nowhere near the stage where the band are playing. I'm thinking this venue is barely a third full and yet over 95% (overly accurate there) of the crowd are in a mosh pit (not me fact fans two reasons... full pint and specs..always careful me!)



Next act or next song I should say as the band are playing during all this. Fat stand up comedian of America dances in the middle and we all copy his moves and then on instruction "RUSH HIIIMM!!" and again a massive mosh pit..well a pogo pit starts up. It's not like you're gonna get hurt there's no bullet belts or doc martins in here. Worst that'll happen is that someone might chaff your cheek with their polyester cardigan.

Then we're all instructed to move to one side of the room. Two people stand opposite each other and join hands above their heads, two people run through them and then stand next to them arms aloft and joined in the air. We're making a human corridor. "So you run through and join the end of the line...we're going out the venue...out the fire escape...into the street..round the tree and then back through the fire escape and back into the venue...make no mistake at some point in this next song the band will be the only people in the room". And we do it! screaming our little heads off as we run through a corridor of arms and legs. I end up holding hands with some geezer who's also aware that he's holding hands with some geezer we don't know each other but we handle it! While we're stood outside watching people running under our arms I can still hear the band slightly in the venue and then we're off again running and screaming through a corridor of converse, cardigans and skinny jeans. We almost make it back to the venue but someone decides enough's enough and everyone piles back into the venue. On queue as the last person enters the room the band ratchets up the noise and song shifts and changes wonderfully.

So you might have realised that instead of a review this has turned into a document of what happened..I can barely remember the music..maybe that was the point. I came away more excited than I've been in a long time. Words like 'spectacle' and 'event' flying around the cerebellum. Had to call my mate to tell him all about it. I dunno if everyone in the room was expecting this kind of show from Dan Deacon, I'd heard he was great live but wasn't expecting the charisma and originality (and ambition!) that was displayed. This was a fantastic show, and yeah I can't remember the set list or much about the band but Deacon was so enthralling to watch and listen to I urge you to check him out.

Oh yeah and there was a rambling anecdote about a sick dog but I'm having that for myself!!