There was no sound

Like 90% of the bands who are big on the internet and not necessarily in real life (IRL, sorry), I was aware of Deerhunter without necessarily knowing anything about/by them. But last night they played, for free, walking distance from my house, so I went to check them out. It was in the same ballroom as the Cursive show a few years back, on the third floor of the Union building. First observation: Bradford Cox, the singer and guitarist looked like, as one concertgoer observed, he had been ravaged by consumption. The guy did not look healthy at all. Later he would explain that, indeed, he was quite unwell. No mind, the guys still made a sufficient racket. I must say: in the hour-or-so they played, there was maybe twenty-five minutes' worth of really good music, where they sounded ace. The majority of their set, though, was a mess of feedback, droned-out noise with a krautrock drumbeat keeping it going. You could see people in the crowd looking at each other, going "huh?". I guess there's something to be said for making music that defies expectations, that is different or avant-garde, but we only sporadically saw stuff that fit that category, such as on 'Calvary Scars', which they finished with. Otherwise, for the most part, ho and indeed hum. 



2 comments:

Justin DLC said...
on

Their last album was really great, if you give it a few spins and let it wash over you.

http://www.musicomh.com/albums/deerhunter_0908.htm

But I'll agree that their live show was only partly successful (I saw them in Tallahassee just recently). I appreciated the noise and stuff, but there's only so much delayed vocals and droning to be done in one set without boring the pants off your patrons.

I really like "Agoraphobia," and they nailed it here.

Unknown said...
on

I'd be interested to read more of your reviews!
I wonder if you've heard of "Dengue Fever" [band, not disease]? They'll be in Florida on Apr22, admittedly close to exam period. Anyway I imagine you're not opposed to hearing about new music:

http://www.myspace.com/denguefevermusic

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