Usually after a secret show announcement on a Monday night, any smart clubber would not anticipate a large turnout, which leaves one main reason to get out there: more room for dancing. That is exactly what happened when Austin’s exclusive nightlife blog The Famousish announced a secret line-up at Black N Tan last Monday night. The event included a few local DJs, including Bird Peterson and Orión, along with LA’s IHEARTCOMIX master Franki Chan, whose dance-hard set made some partiers forget they had work the next morning. As these pictures will attest, it was a great party and an amazing way to start the week.
Words: Lina Khaznarar
Images: Marcos A. Molina Illescas
Three years after introducing organic tribal synths orchestrated through ethnic avant-dance style rhythms on their 2005 full-debut album, God’s Money, Gang Gang Dance marched back into the contemporary post-rock scene with their most recent and more epic Saint Dymphna. As the band’s music gained favor with critics, Hot Chip and Spank Rock’s XXXChange remixed their single “House Jam.” GGD’s style is so explicit that their musical medley of rich Middle Eastern scales, ritualistic Peyote-like drums, mystical keyboards and whatever genre they investigate—ambient, noise punk, and hip-hop—cannot be emulated.
Despite the breezy cold front which blew through Austin, the Brooklyn-based quartet threw one long psychedelic jam session for the dark-clad audience at Mohawk’s outside stage. The heavily Arabic-influenced duo Raindow Rabia warmed up the audience before GGD took the stage. The stage set was a spectacle—the members intricately assembled percussion, keyboards, and numerous gizmos; it was as mesmerizing visually as the music was aurally.
Liz Bougatsos, known for her playful young geisha-like voice echoing through tunnel-like reverb, looked sassy in her Ghostface Killah T-shirt as she soulfully struck her toms with a whimsical smile glued to her face. Guitarist Josh Diamond and drummer Tim Dewit, each rocking the inevitable Hand of Fatima charm necklace, ad-libbed at times so fluidly that they could only depend less on rehearsing and more on their otherworldly intuition, while keyboardist Brian DeGraw played a distinct role in performing compelling layers with his drum pad and keyboards.
Due to the band’s history of personal conflicts, it is unknown what more we expect from this outfit in the near future. However, Bougatsos promised to revisit the stage very soon. Her fans in Austin will be waiting.
This past weekend the Williamsburg, Brooklyn restaurant and performance space Monkey Town played host to a truly special evening of music. Hammock, the acclaimed ambient rock duo from Tennessee, were in town to do a special performance of their latest release, the transcendent Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow, alongside a rare live set from 12k Records’ owner Taylor Deupree.
For those who don’t know, Monkey Town’s performance and dining space is an immersive multi-media environment. Boasting four massive viewing screens, full 6.1 surround sound and absurdly comfortable seating around its perimeter, it may very well be the ideal setting for such a concert as this.
Though at times plagued by the sound of clattering cutlery and the odd snippet of loud conversation (Monkey Town is, after all, a dinner club), his set was warmly received and set a hushed tone for the evening.
Deupree kicked things off on a low-key note. Hunched behind his glowing Macbook, he crafted a lush bed of ambient tones woven from looped acoustic guitar and samples culled from some of his more recent releases, all set to a slideshow of blurred stills from his Sea Last project. Though at times plagued by the sound of clattering cutlery and the odd snippet of loud conversation (Monkey Town is, after all, a dinner club), his set was warmly received and set a hushed tone for the evening.
Hammock, on the other hand, had no such issues vying for attention. Having hauled six amplifiers, nearly a dozen guitars, a cello and a small army of effects pedals up for their performance, they had no trouble at all filling the space with their epic crescendos and mournful tones. Their set held the audience at rapt attention for its duration, recalling a more dynamic incarnation of Stars Of The Lid, with whom Hammock had shared the stage the night before.
The night ended in collaboration, with Deupree joining the band center stage, delivering a wonderful drone of chattering sine tones, frenetic cello melodies and resonant guitar drones that left everyone in the room glued to their seat at the end, unsure of where to take their night next.
French pop belle Yelle is known for her inexplicably bright charm that emanates from her deliberately crass songs. Her loud fashion inspires richly colorful patterns that depict carefree youth steering the spread of the electro-pop subculture. Yelle’s 2007 debut, Pop Up, inspires her well-recognized shimmering projection of outgoing fun on stage.
Austin’s Bird’s Barbershop and Prototype Vintage threw a lively bash graced by the sultry singer and met her request to also turn the show—like all of the others on her current tour—into a masquerade party. Fans may have been lucky enough to snatch a kiss from her as long as they rocked the angular, block-colored, short-eared Anubis-looking mask. The promoters also offered free hair crimping and vintage shopping in spirit of Yelle’s glittery performance.
Yelle made her attractive appearance with satirical French notoriety, flaunting her pink tossing epaulettes, glimmer-gold tights, and bright orange sneakers. Her musical entourage included Tepr on keyboards, who’s recognizable by his epic Tektonik remix of Yelle’s hit “A Cause des Garçons,” and GrandMarnier on drums. An unexpected cheerleading mob of decked-out jazzercisers fueled the crowd, elevating Yelle’s ostentatious and energizing performance. The show wrapped up with a set by DJ Bigface and the dancing continued, especially when the jazzercising mob took the lead in the infamous electric slide.
