« Retro (not-really) Hump – Beastie Boys | Main | Quarterly Report: Fourth Quarter of 2006 Podcast »
December 21, 2006
Neon Lights have come and gone...
Thieves Like Us and an appreciative fan of their drumming.
photos by Devon Banks
Well, I'd like to think that my non-stop shilling in the run up to last Friday's inaugural Neon Lights show had alot to do with the strong turnout, but realistically I think it's a fact that when you get alot of talented people together in the same room, people are going to be interested in coming there too, and drinking heavily. So much thanks to Bell, Lismore, Thieves Like Us, and the Ballet for being irresistible, and to DJ's Earfarm, Crumbcake, and Fluxblog, for maintaining the kind of perpetual motion that we all love. You can read Matt Earfarm's semi-comprehensive wrap up for his lofty DJ perch here, and marvel at the majesty of Matt Fluxblog's DJ set as well.
My partner in crime d has posted a much more timely review, so please read her take in all its glory. Which brings us to me...
Somewhere around posting the two hundredth notice brow beating the New York public into attending, I officially lost my ability to be objective about it. So any kind of "comprehensive write up" I could offer you would be painted so thickly with the proud parent brush as to be completely unreliable as a factual document.
With that in mind, I soldier on...
Bell
Due to a long stint responsibly manning the door, my view of Olga Bell's set was sliced into short pieces. Of course any sane observer needed only a song or two to realize that she was destined for big things. The intimacy of the recorded tracks didn't prepare me for how room filling Bell's pipes would actually be in person. Even those lurking towards the back of the room, trying to play it cool, were pinned down and forcibly charmed. The live rendition of the previously posted "Expanding File" was a highlight for me, its forays into thumping electronica calmed down by the milk and honey vocals.
I'm totally inconsolable over the fact that I missed her cover of Skee-lo's "I Wish". That song was drilled into my head repeatedly by teenage years spent idly gawking at MTV, carved into my memory banks waiting for the one moment years into the future where my intimate knowledge of its lyrics would one day be rewarded by their shocking appearance coming from the lips of a lovely young chanteuse. This destiny was unfulfilled, and now I shall never know true contentment.
Oh well.
Jessica Martins of Via Audio eventually pitched in on vocal harmonies, achieving their desired gorgeous layering effect. Before that, she watched and grinned with the rest of the assembled.
This was the default audience facial expression...
(Follow the link to read brief Bell agreement from my former DJ battle adversary Rachael, from the Underrated.)
Lismore
The fine folks of Lismore took stage next, in what was clearly the best dressed perfomance of the evening. Lead singer Penelope owned the black cap and tie ensemble, like an evil Andrews Sister, and her compatriots equalled her in their disaffected cool. As admirable as the icy reserve of the set majority was, the best moments for me were when the Jersey City-ites picked up the pace a little, as in new track "Cherry Bomb". A good sign for things to come.
Although she appears intimidating on stage, Penelope was as amiable as her Aussie lineage would suggest. We chatted briefly about the baffling honor of being a Hustler magazine music pick. Who knew that hardcore porn hounds were also into to glacial glitch pop? Or that the Flynt mags even had record reviews for that matter? I'm not just playing dumb, I promise...
Thieves Like Us
You could suss out the nationality of the Thieves Like Us members pretty easily. Super tall gent in the white patent leather jacket de-mystifying the keyboard by tilting it upwards; Swede. Super tall gent with long blond hair and wispy mustache beating the synth pads like they had insulted loganberries; Swede. Hype man in the middle, rocking the Kangol hat, print shirt, and jeans; Yank. But no matter the transparency of their national affiliations, TLU brought their hits. "Drugs in My Body", "Fass", and "Lady" were all trotted out in a dance-o-matic row, if I remember correctly. I dub synth pad Pontus the night's MVP, as no other single performer inspired the frenzied double metal hand signal accompanied by a screamed "DRUMMER!" as depicted in this post's top photo. Of course, it would be odd if anyone else but a drummer had that screamed at them, but we needed more specific screaming, is all I 'm saying. Pontus delivered.
the Ballet
The Ballet ended us off on a great note, sounding much crisper than they had when I saw them at the Cake Shop earlier this year. With songs as clever and catchy as those that litter Mattachine!, a sharp, faithful performance is going to kill. It did. They were a hit parade from the beginning, starting with "Personal", moving to "Cheating on Your Boyfriend", through "Corduroy", and onto the new MySpace featured charmer, "Murder at the Discotheque." Somehow I think the lack of a cello player pushes the group into tighter, more playful arrangement. He acknowledged as much in our recent interview, but I can attest for myself that the results were top notch non-stop pop! My night was a palindrome, as I soon went to resume my solitary perch atop the Delancey basement stairs, collecting cash from the tardy. I didn't have to be down there to know that the Ballet finished strong, as a cavalcade of drunk pals were well prepared to fill me in, on their way out.
So, after lingering about long enough to hear Fluxblog play my beloved "North American Scum", collect the felt banner, and bask for a second more in the night, it was done. Thanks again to everyone who made it out, a pox on those who did not.
Don't mourn us, we'll be back sooner than you think.
Check out more photos on Flickr here, and the come befriend Neon Lights on MySpace here. That way when the next show comes about, you'll be duly notified, and instead of swapping long winded recaps, we can just sort of nod knowingly at each other.
Hey, you know it just occurred to me that I still don't know what that last mystery drink special was...
// Bell - MySpace
// Lismore - MySpace, band site
// Thieves Like Us - MySpace, band site
// the Ballet - MySpace, band site
Posted by Jeff Klingman at December 21, 2006 04:55 PM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.merryswankster.com/movabletype/mt-tb.cgi/604
Comments
it was a mat shot with a dash of edward burns.
Posted by: d at December 21, 2006 05:11 PM
