Ohmpark.com > Features

Ohmpark Mixtape #23: 2012, A Prologue

Here’s a collection of songs by local artists that just missed my 2011 blogging season. All of these deserve their own blog post, but I haven’t had the time. So instead, I used them to build a mixtape. You can click on the album art images below to find more about each song:


Shook Foil : “The Monument”


Cute Boots : “The Fire”


Dark Room : “Ice Swimming”


Easily Suede : “Great Fantastic”


Lotus Plaza : “Christmas In Whosbekistanstanstan”


Damon Moon & The Whispering Drifters : “Seasonal Suite #62″


ODIST : “Pyramid Eyes”


Order of The Owl : “Bandsaw”


Christ, Lord : “I Was” (Live)


Solitude : “Jenny Lee”

Atlanta Music Roundtable ’11: Most Underrated Local Artists

You may remember that last year a bunch of us local music bloggers got together and did a collaborative year end project called the Atlanta Music Roundtable. Well, we’ve decided to do it again this year, and we have ten local music writers talking about Atlanta music in 2011. Here’s this year’s roundtable:

Denton from Little Advances
Emily from Wholly Roller
Max from Paste Magazine
Moe from Latest Disgrace
Tim from I’m A Bear! Etc
Adam from Beatlanta
Rube from Atlanta’s A-List
Bret from Hijacking Music
Christina from Promising Chord
and myself

We’ve discussed ten different topics, and we’ll be posting one topic on each of our websites all week long. Here’s the topics and schedule:

Monday: Most Underrated (Davy), Mediums and Formats (Bret)
Tuesday: Breakout Artists in 2012 (Max), Best and Worst of ATL (Moe)
Wednesday: Favorite Shows (Emily), Visuals (Adam)
Thursday: Best EPs & Songs (Christina), Best Places to Buy and Hear (Rube)
Friday: Best Local Albums (Denton), Best Non-Local Albums (Tim)

I’ll link each section above as they happen, but you can also keep up with everything at the Atlanta Music Roundtable website. We’ve also conducted a poll of the top 10 local albums and EPs/7″s in 2011 between various people involved with the local scene and will be unveiling that soon. In addition, we’re all co-hosting a show at The Earl this Wednesday night featuring Little Tybee, Today The Moon, Tomorrow The Sun, New Animal, and Spirits and the Melchizedek Children. You won’t want to miss that.

Atlanta Music Roundtable Show Facebook Page

Anyway, here’s our discussion on the “Most Underrated Local Artists”:




Davy:

There are a plethora of artists in this city deserving of more attention, but none more so than Nomen Novum. For me, David Norbery’s Nomen Novum is on the same par as Deerhunter and Outkast in that he’s one of the greatest musicians to call this town home. His guitar playing and tone are incredible, yet he’s also one of the city’s most innovative electronic artists. He writes clever, witty, and funny lyrics, but he can also build an insane drone track. He can write a perfect pop song that also happens to push the boundaries of sonic experimentation. Yet somehow, he still remains in almost total obscurity. It boggles my mind.


Denton:

Shepherds can’t seem to find much local traction, despite a release via Double Phantom Digital and a frontman who’s resume includes locals Tendaberry and rhythm guitar work in Janelle Monae’s touring band. Maybe it’s because the music’s hard to pin down on a first listen. It took a few spins before the Holy Stain EP’s strange mix of scraping proto-punk noise and genuinely soulful vocals clicked for me, but once it did, I was hooked. It sounds like the radio dial got stuck between a station blasting Fun House and another playing Smokey Robinson. They’re better live, where it’s even more obvious that the abrasion is a carefully considered aesthetic choice rather than a crutch. These guys can actually play, and they’re making something unique.

On a different note, I’m not sure why Hip to Death and Attention System have had trouble crossing over with a local indie crowd that readily embraces other bands cut from the same general sonic cloth. There’s no reason why the latter shouldn’t be connecting with the crowds that show up for noise-rock like HAWKS or psych-gazers like Abby GoGo. The latter would fit nicely on a bill with a range of electro-tinged acts from Featureless Ghost to Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun. Maybe overlooked is a better term than underrated, but both deserve better.


Adam:

One of my favorite Atlanta bands…I think the Sneaky Hand has some more fans coming their way. They have the energy and the attitude to hook any crowd during a live show. If you’re on a bar stool in the back or outside smoking, you’re going to want to get up to see whats happening on stage. They don’t make the most technical music but its solid, dance-inducing alternative rock and roll with an intelligent tone. Funky, sassy and in your face. Matt Maher on vocals is nothing less than a rock star and Trey on guitar has a distinctive and noteworthy style. Add Kamil on bass and bring in their artistic take on everything they do…and you have the making of pure entertainment.

I would agree with Denton that Attention System deserves some more attention. They have a great sound and always put on exciting live shows that include an awesome strobe light stage set. They have a solid local fan base and they’re good at mobilizing the blogs and online sources at their disposal. I’d like to see them tour more.

Dead Rabbits have a giant soulful sound that I think could rally a larger fan base. They’re often written about as a Black Keys clone and many bloggers have contributed that to the con list, but not me. I see them as an original band in a similar genre, making powerful and genuine Southern rock. They have tunes that could do well at outdoor festivals and I’ve seen them get a crowd moving.

Other bands worth mentioning… Baby Baby, Nigredo, Damon Moon, Hip to Death, Lazy Mane & Kosherbeets, Siberia My Sweet, Fishhawk, Cloudeater, A: The Color, Oryx and Crake, Earthtone Lyrix, The Wild, the Charges, Mermaids, Sealions, Gun Party…and on and on.

Again…there are so many awesome bands in Atlanta that I think could take on regional or national attention. Too many to name.


Rube:

Gringo Star is my most underrated band. Maybe they live too close to what many think of as the Atlanta garage stereotype but I think that “inferiority complex” is far more pronounced in the minds of those who have been hanging around this town for so long than it is in the greater music community outside the confines of our peachtree town. And let’s be honest we’re all bloggers here and I know I’m not the only one who has gotten emails from bands and publicists in Scotland, Russia, France and many other far flung places. What’s the point? Well, first, I think Atlanta as a music community might be guilty of the same fault that all of us fall prey to – that is, we don’t see ourselves quite the same way as the rest of the world. Really, with all due respect to Cole, Jared, et. al. if there was band or two that could be considered the current “face” of Atlanta I think it’s all things Bradford Cox and Mastodon (but that’s for another post). Second, the world is a lot smaller than it used to be and in some strange, small way each blogger in this forum is somewhat responsible for it. I love Atlanta but I would suggest we all take a look at the bigger picture and promote all of our finest talents regardless of genre.

However, this ramble is supposed to be about the underappreciated garage jangle of Gringo Star. I really like this band for a number of reasons. The songs hit an old college rocker like me in just the right spot. Those southern gentlemen who just retired started by paying homage to many of the same sounds (it’s a weak spot I’m pleased to confess). GS pick up right there with melodies and textures that belie the easy pop sensibility in so many of their songs. I also miss the shipping pallets that used to adorn so many intown intersections when they were still playing most of their shows right here. They have disappeared as these guys have had the chance to record and tour in other places with increasing frequency but those homemade wooden signs were a testament to their work ethic. Their willingness to do whatever they needed to do to get their music in front of as many people as possible. It was 100% DIY and completely authentic – a trait that I do not think this band has abandoned. My favorite episode with those signs was entering the men’s room in the front room of the Earl to find one of those signs indelicately propped on the john. (Well, I thought it was funny) Anyway, I would freely recommend that anyone “Count Yer Lucky Stars” with Gringo Star.

Here’s the footnote: This rant could have just as well been about Attention System who are inexplicitly underappreciated but fortunately I’m not the only one who thinks so in this forum. Read what these folks have said about this band and if you haven’t seen Attention System in one of our local venues do it the very first next time you can. A must see. Thanks, Rube.


Davy:

While I agree with Rube about Gringo Star and Attention System as I have been rooting for both since their precursor bands (A Fir-Ju Well and Slow Motion Crash respectively), I want to offer a counter point to some of Rube’s rant because, you know, it’s fun to debate and discuss about music and the scene.

One of my favourite things about the blog-era of music journalism is that everyone is free to practice their craft the way they want, and I really think people should approach it however they choose. While some may enjoy all genres of music equally, other people have personal preferences. I tend to not prefer music that adheres to rigid genre tropes, such as punk, metal, rap, folk, jazz, bluegrass etc., so I don’t usually blog about those sorts of artists unless it’s something really different or special. But I don’t think people coming to my blog are looking for those sorts of styles. It’s not about anything other than personal taste. I doubt garage enthusiasts care much about my opinions, and I rarely find suggestions about 21st Century music that I enjoy from old school rock critics who purport to be experts in every genre. Today, people don’t want a music source that’s for everyone, they want a music source that’s for them. I don’t really see much value in spending time and blogging about music that I’m not passionate about just to hit some genre quota. There’s plenty of other people who are passionate about that music that can better cover it.

As far as perceptions of the city from inside and out, I feel like this becomes more irrelevant every day. Nobody’s really interested in a city’s scene unless it’s their own. There’s musical artists doing cool things in pretty much every town in America right now, so worrying about how the city’s scene is perceived is kind of a moot point. Plus, in the case of my blog, my audience and content is almost exclusively local, so it’s not like I can have any real influence on how outsiders see our city anyway.


Bret:

Sleepy Genes is my pick for most underrated, and I would not even call them that as they’ve been getting some good attention and good shows.

I first saw them at this year’s Nophest and really enjoyed it. Their sound is a pretty easy to get in to but they also like to mix it up.

The older I get, more and more I lean towards listening to and playing music that makes sense, instead of trying to screw peoples minds up with crazy time changes, playing as loud as possible, etc.

What I really like about Sleepy Genes is they bring a hint of those things into their music where its appropriate, seemingly to make sure that the crowd is still paying attention.

With some more practice, more shows, and more time together, I see this band doing some big things.

Some other groups I would like to give a shout out too that could be in this category:

The Difference Machine, Swank Sinatra, The Fountnhead, and I totally agree with Davy about Nomen Novum.


Christina:

I also pick Sleepy Genes as overlooked/underrated, solely on seeing their live shows. Since my first experience seeing them live I knew they were a band to watch out for. They win the crowd over every time they grace the stage because their high energy rock and roll is so damn good. With no recorded music to their names, that is going to change next year because they are currently in the recording process. I’m hoping in 2012 more and more people will recognize how incredible this band really is. Other bands that I think deserve more attention are NovaKord, Gun Party and Corner Kid.


Emily:

I definitely agree with Davy and say Nomen Novum as well. I think it’s safe to say that he is Atlanta’s best kept secret, but it’s about time the rest of the world knows what’s up. I was completely blown away by his performance at The Cottage for the Criminal Records benefit. David Norbery is incredible and insanely creative.


Tim:

Agree with Christina about Gun Party. I got to see them at Hijacking Music fest for the first time and was very impressed. They’re doing some fun things. Nomen Novum is being underrated by everyone. He’s a real treat, but hopefully he’ll find some traction in 2012 because I love the music he’s putting out.


Moe:

There are two ways you can view “underrated.” First there are those bands that have been almost entirely ignored — by fans, by blogs, by the music community in general — but whose talent and creativity warrants them greater attention. And then there are those bands that have been championed by blogs, that have received favorable reviews in Creative Loafing, Performer and other local publications, but that don’t get the fan turnout we think they deserve. In terms of the former, I think Nomen Novum is a really good illustration. Davy has really gotten behind David Norbery and has pushed him hard for quite some time, but outside of Ohmpark, you rarely hear him mentioned (not including this post, obviously) and that’s a shame. I’m as guilty as anyone of this, so I can’t really say much about it other than, yeah, Nomen Novum is entirely underrated.

But in terms of the second case, it’s difficult to say whether or not it qualifies as underrated. Let’s take a band like Spirits and the Melchizedek Children. A lot of us have had nothing but praise for that band (that’s why they’re playing our Roundtable show tonight!) and almost all the press I have seen has been glowing. But then you look at the fan numbers on their Facebook page and they’re low. Granted, Facebook might not be a channel that they’re active on or that they choose to actively promote, but for a band that’s received a fair amount of attention, you’d think those numbers would be higher. So are they underrated? Hard to tell. The same goes for Attention System, Hip to Death, Cloudeater, and basically every other band that a lot of us like but have never advanced much outside of Atlanta. Frankly, all of these groups should have a much greater presence in the local scene, but why they don’t would be the subject for a much longer and complex post.

Wait, did I just avoid naming a pick for an underrated band? Okay fine, here you go: Slowriter, Eddie Meeks, Corner Kid, Glenn Saddler, BiAS. Look em’ all up if you want to know what’s what.




The Atlanta Music Roundtable ’11 continues at Hijacking Music.

Ohmpark’s Top 25 Albums of 2011

Back in 2009, I listened to approximately 75 records that came out of Atlanta that year. This year, I blogged about roughly 75 records, and for every album I discussed, there were at least five I listened to and didn’t blog about. The quantity of music being made in this city is growing exponentially, and the Atlanta music scene runs extraordinarily deep. So needless to say, this was the most difficult year-end list to put together yet.

On a technical note, my 2011 year-end list eligibility extends through the 2010 holiday season because I like to be able to spend enough time with a record to properly evaluate it. So, any record that was not widely available before Thanksgiving this year will go into consideration for 2012.

Here are my twenty-five favourite albums from Atlanta this year:


25. Cassandras : Hari Pari Mandala Gosthi




24. Dark Room : Gothic Picnic




23. We The Lion : Boy Oh Boy




22. Easily Suede / Carey : Good Health Guide




21. Cassandras : Cassandras: 3 Songs




20. Book Club : Ghost




19. Warning Light : Wild Silver




18. Djarum : Don’t Let Me Down




17. Places : The Future




16. Nomen Novum / Magicicada / Tree Creature : Three Way Split




15. The Back Pockets : Fast Cloud Slow Cloud




14. Lid Emba : Terminal Muse: Blue




13. Vocabulary : Faded Days




12. Time Wharp : later.




11. Atlas Sound : Parallax




10. Mastodon : The Hunter




9. Places : Half-Dones




8. New Animal : Eleven Songs




7. Places : March




6. Spirits and the Melchizedek Children : We Are Here To Save YOU!




5. Lyonnais : Want For Wish For Nowhere




4. The Electric Nature : Mount Analogue




3. Today The Moon, Tomorrow The Sun : Wildfire




2. Little Tybee : Humorous To Bees




1. New Animal : New Animal

The story of Atlanta’s independent music scene in 2011 was the rise of a new wave of artists that came out of nowhere and upped the ante on everyone else. Only four acts on this list (veteran mainstays Mastodon, Atlas Sound, The Back Pockets, and Nomen Novum) have appeared on my best Atlanta album lists in either 2010 or 2009. That’s a symptom of the fact that there’s a new generation of local musicians dominating the scene. And at the head of this new class is New Animal.

New Animal‘s meteoric rise over the course of 2011 is unparalleled. Without a label backing them, with very little major publication support, and without even playing a single show ever, New Animal became one of the Internet’s buzziest bands early on in the year solely based on the strength of their 75-minute self-titled masterpiece. It’s hard for me to think of another record with fifteen songs where I love each and every single one. And what’s even more impressive is that they continued to output new material seemingly on a monthly basis, creating a catalog in one year vaster and more compelling than most artists do over a lifetime. There is simply no musical artist in the world that’s had a more impressive year.

My #2 and #3 spots went to outfits that have been on their own upward swing lately, each respectively creating an epic record that delivered on all the brilliance and potential they had displayed in recent years. My #4 is probably the most inaccessible record to come out of the city this year, but if you can find your way inside, it’s a monster. And my #5 goes to a band that I had previously written off, but there’s no denying what an amazing album they’ve put forth.

Of course, everything on this list is spectacular, and if you missed one, be sure to pick it up.

Ohmpark’s Top 10 Music Videos of 2011

10. Oryx and Crake: “Unbound”




9. From Exile featuring Emil Werstler: “A Warm Place” (Nine Inch Nails Cover)




8. Slowriter: “Black Leaves”




7. Damon Moon And The Whispering Drifters: “Motherless Child”

Damon Moon and the Whispering Drifters “Motherless Child” from Chris Thiessen on Vimeo.




6. Lyonnais: “Dusted At Mount Sinai”

Lyonnais – Dusted At Mount Sinai from Lyonnais on Vimeo.




5. The Back Pockets: “Break Up Song”




4. Qurious: “Another Language”




3. Mane Mane: “Twinkl Sr”

Mane Mane – Twinkl Sr from Aaron Katsnelson on Vimeo.




2. Little Tybee: “I Wonder Which House The Fish Will Live In”




1. Little Tybee: “Boxcar Fair”

Little Tybee – “Boxcar Fair” from Little Tybee on Vimeo.

Ohmpark’s Top 40 Songs of 2011

Now that this blog only covers local music, I decided that all of my year-end lists this year will be Atlanta music specific. There’s plenty of sites that do national/international lists anyway. So then, this is my 40 favourite songs of the year by artists affiliated with Atlanta. I spent a lot of time with each of these songs, and if you are unfamiliar with any of them, I strongly suggest you click on the song titles below to give them a listen.


40. “Black Leaves” by Slowriter

39. “A Letter To The FDA” by Where Are We?

38. “Nerve Pop” by Small Reactions

37. “Tomorrow’s Garden” by Imagination Head

36. “Barcelona” by Dark Room

35. “Islands” by Kinisi

34. “The Battle of East & West Virginia” by Mediocre Machine

33. “Santa Maria” by Beachtapes

32. “mandelbrotset” by Time Wharp

31. “Control” by Young Again

30. “Who’s In Bed” by Jungol

29. “Children” by Vocabulary

28. “Black Lion” by Places

27. “Movie Night” by Easily Suede

26. “Edita V” by Balkans

25. “Passion Seekers” by Little Tybee featuring Adron

24. “Q ‘n’ A” by Spirits and the Melchizedek Children

23. “Lights lights” by Beachtapes

22. “Breathe” by Exact Index featuring Casey Harper

21. “No Tomorrow” by Places

20. “Far From The Best” by Cassandras

19. “Things I Like” by Vocabulary

18. “I Think It’s Working” by New Animal

17. “Pacer” by BOSCO

16. “Rise Up” by Cassandras

15. “Creature Lives” by Mastodon

14. “They Don’t Know” by New Animal

13. “Sweet Melinda” by Places

12. “cuspcake” by Time Wharp

11. “Out There” by New Animal

10. “Ivan” by We the Lion

9. “History” by Little Tybee

8. “Old Monster” by Today The Moon, Tomorrow The Sun

7. “Wicca Chimes” by Nomen Novum

6. “Lift You Up” by New Animal

5. “Distinguished Critter” by Places

4. “Still In Mind” by New Animal

3. “Water Story” by Wowser Bowser

2. “Millennials” by Nomen Novum

1. “Two Faced” by Living Rooms






[Guest Mixtape] Places: Morning Ride

Our latest guest mixtape comes from Nicolo Giarrano, the man behind one of the most compelling new acts in the Atlanta music scene, Places. Over just the last year, Places has output an impressive catalog of music, both in terms of quality and quantity. Anyway, here’s what he said about the mixtape he’s put together for us:

This is best listened to early in the morning, when the air outside is so still you wouldn’t dare disturb it, when you want to let the day ease into the music, allowing the morning birds to add accompaniment. This is for when your ears are too sensitive after their quiet night of dreaming. When the slight burning in your calves is outweighed by the breeze brushing over you as the sun peeks through the trees, when the weather is having an identity crisis. This is for when you know you’re going to have a good day.

Enjoy this twenty minute mix, and then don’t forget to catch the Places live band at the Goat Farm on Sunday (October 23rd) for The 4th Atlanta SOUL Project.

Places : Morning Ride Mix

Tracklist:

1. Brian Eno : “Drift”
2. Boards of Canada : “Melissa Juice”
3. Clay Pitts : “Caribbean Sunrise”
4. Nancy Adams : “Love”
5. The Beach Boys : “Let’s Go Away For a While”
6. Koji Kondo : “Inside the Deku Tree”
7. Places : “High School Pretty”
8. Koushik : “Forest Loop”
9. The Avalanches : “Slow Walking”
10. Boards of Canada : “Over The Horizon Radar”

Places bandcamp
Places tumblr

[Guest Mixtape] Primitive Patterns

Atlanta has quite a few record labels doing cool things right now, but one of the best new labels to crop up recently is Primitive Patterns. Their aesthetic seems to line up very close to my own taste. So give a listen to this great mix put together by Primitive Pattern’s Adam Babar of Easily Suede and Faun And A Pan Flute.

Download Mixtape

Primitive Patterns Bandcamp

primitivepatterns mixtape by primitivepatterns

[Guest Mixtape] David Mansfield of Double Phantom Records

Being a huge fan of mixtapes, I decided it would be fun to have musicians, bloggers, labels, etc contribute mixes to Ohmpark this summer. For the second installment of this series, David Mansfield of Double Phantom Records and the now defunct Roman Photos has put together a summer mixtape for us. Double Phantom has been around roughly as long as this blog, and in that time, it’s become an institution in Atlanta’s independent music scene. My favourite thing about DP is that it features a wide range of diversity. Not only are there so many aesthetically different artists collected under one banner, but the label releases in all sorts of formats, from vinyl to CD to free downloads at Double Phantom Digital.

Anyway, here’s what David Mansfield had to say about his mixtape:

I love making mixtapes, make one each month based on that month, memories of that month, and the season. So this one is a summer one technically. Pretty much I fell in love with all these songs in summer, and a lot of them make me think of other places and going somewhere. Travel is very important to me. But for me it also captures the experience of a hot summer day then slowly going into the balmy night. Hope you dig it! It was fun to do it.

Tracklist:

1. Happy Mondays : “Tart Tart”
2. The Slits : “Love Und Romance”
3. Wire : “Strange”
4. Blur : “Tune 2″
5. Nicolas Jaar : “Too Many Kids Finding Rain In The Dust”
6. A Tribe Called Quest : “Youthful Expression”
7. The Pharcyde : “Otha Fish”
8. The Avalanches : “Frontier Psychiatrist”
9. Simonal : “Nem Vem que Nao Tem”
10. Françoise Hardy : “C’est Le Passe”
11. Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood : “Down From Dover”
12. Saint Etienne : “People Get Real”
13. Matthew Dear : “Pom Pom”
14. Siouxie And The Banshess : “Kiss Them For Me”
15. Aphex Twin : “Pulsewidth”
16. Kraftwerk : “Neon Lights” (live)
17. Brian Eno : “Everything Merges With The Night”

Double Phantom Guest Mixtape

Download tracks individually

Double Phantom Records

Roman Photos Blog

[Guest Mixtape] Time Wharp: Grant Park Mix

Being a huge fan of mixtapes, I decided it would be fun to have musicians, bloggers, labels, etc contribute mixes to Ohmpark this summer. To debut this new series, Time Wharp, aka Patrick Loggins, whose later. is one of my favourite records to come out so far this year, has put together a sampler of the new Atl beat sound. This is how he describes it:

here’s a grab-bag of what’s happening/what could be happening
a little cruise through the minds of current or self-proclaimed ATLiens

somebody’s gotta get this stuff out there
cultivate the sound in the city

Here’s the tracklist, which begins with an exclusive from Divine Interface, and listen/download the whole thing below:

Divine Interface : “Father Time”
C Powers : “Pashuniv”
P Villa : “Hydrogen”
Time Wharp : “mandelbrotset” (achy dromedary rmx)
Matthewdavid : “Noche y Dia / San Raphael”
OutKast : “Ms. Jackson” (Harmonimix)
Mane Mane : “Just Called 2″
REKchampa : “Nights”
DZA : “Softgram” (Busted by heRobust)

Grant Park Mix by Time Wharp

Time Wharp website

Grant Park Mix for Ohmpark by Time Wharp on Mixcloud

Ohmpark Mixtape #21: The Dawn Of Summer

Young Again : “Skin The Arms”
Panda Bear : “Alsatian Darn”
Here We Go Magic : “Backwards Time”
Today The Moon, Tomorrow The Sun : “Old Monster”
tUnE-YarDs : “Bizness”
Mother Mother : “Simply Simple”
Feast Of Violet featuring Featureless Ghost : “Doomsday”
Beachtapes : “Santa Maria”
Places : “Sweet Melinda”
Dark Room : “Stutter”
Easily Suede : “Movie Night”
Radiohead : “Lotus Flower”
New Animal : “Out There”

[Review] Daft Punk Tron Legacy Tour @ Atlantic Station Imax 3D Theater (12/20/10)

First, please let me apologize for the delay in the writing of this review. After the show I totally overdosed on roxy’s, overpriced PBR, and insanely cheap ecstasy pills. I was released from the hospital a week ago only to break my leg on all the god-damned ice that had mysteriously coated the entire fucking city. Don’t worry, though, I pretty much remember most of what I think happened during the show itself.

For those unaware or uninformed, Daft Punk is the moniker chosen by Canadian duo, John Daft and Bill Punk. They are known mainly for their insane ability to perfectly duplicate the sounds of android orgies, and to make these sounds danceable in the process. They are also well known for sampling Kanye West’s song, “Stronger, Faster”. Their most recent album, titled Tron Legacy (original motion picture soundtrack) was a bit of a departure from their earlier work. This show was a part of the Tron legacy tour, and thus did not feature any of their previous work. Many fans were disappointed, but that’s their fault for not knowing how to read a fucking fandango ticket confirmation e-mail. Yeah, I thought it was weird that Fandango would be the official ticket merchant for a live band as well, but for 20$ Daft Punk tickets, I sure as fuck wasn’t gonna complain.

Honestly, nothing could have prepared me for how this show went down. I was expecting a traditional live band type performance with probably a mega-dope light show, witty band banter, and tons of crowd participation. I was also expecting the two members of the band to dominate the stage with some sort of something over their heads. (in the past, Daft Punk have appeared only wearing robot helmets, leading most fans to believe that the duo are actually robots sent back in time to kill John Connor and to make people dance) For the record, absolutely none of that shit went down.

I first noticed the riff between reality and expectations when the ticket guy gave me a pair of “3D” glasses instead of checking my id and verifying that I was old enough to get totally shitty on overpriced alcohol in public. Warning to future concertgoers: This is a totally non-alcoholic event. You must bring your own alcohol and sneak it in via some chick’s purse or your own baggy Jnco jeans. The second noticeable departure from a normal concert was the seating arrangement. The tickets themselves did not have seat numbers, and it was pretty much first come, first served. Only when the show started did I put together the reason for these strange deviations from the norm. The new album is a concept album based upon a fictional over-hyped sequel to some shitty Disney movie titled Tron. The album itself plays like the soundtrack to this fictional motion picture. So, for the live show, the band wanted to re-create for the audience, the feeling that would have been generated if such a shitty movie had been made.

The album itself has almost no lyrics and a small selection of seemingly random dialogue from the fictional movie. The live show, however, is where it all comes together. They literally perform the fictional movie live in front of the audience! The plot is a genius satire on traditional blockbuster cgi movie event extravaganzas. Like such a movie, any attempt to rationalize the plot ends in the moviegoer wanting to murder literally everyone around them. The story, in brief, is centered around the son of the main character from the original Tron movie. Shortly after the end of the first movie, the main character disappears into a computer generated world called, The Grid. The son, years later, receives a beeper message and ends up in The Grid himself. He then reunites with his father and together they . . . Well what they do isn’t really important and honestly, I don’t actually know what they fuck the “mission” was or why they needed to accomplish it. What blew my mind was the execution and enhancement of the album, which, before the show, I graded a mere 2.4 on my blog. The live show led me to up my grade to an almost perfect 9.8. Pitchfork’s grade remains at 5.5 because they are obviously stupid cunts.

This show could have been called “Daft Punk: Unmasked”, because that’s exactly what happened. What shocked myself and the rest of the audience the most was when Daft Punk, mid show, staged their big reveal: They are actually a father-son duo who look eerily like Jeff Bridges now and Jeff Bridges now with cgi enhancements which make him look like Jeff Bridges who starred in the original Tron movie circa nineteen eighty something. Holy tits, I literally pissed myself.

At one point, in order to parody their former masked personas, they had extras appear as “themselves” dj-ing music in a futuristic dance club scene. This totally went with the overall message and theme of the show.

As far as the execution of the music went, it was absolutely flawless. The sound itself seemed as if it had been recorded in a studio and was being played via cd to the audience. The visuals went perfectly with the music as if the music had been crafted for the visual aspect of the show, and not vice versa.

Daft Punk has totally invented a new way to showcase live music visuals…3D! Yeah, normally shows are literally in 3D because that’s the depth in which we view and experience reality, but this was like real REAL 3D. The band and the other “actors” and cgi nonsense seemed to blast off the stage at the audience. This was due to the glasses I mentioned earlier.

I left the show feeling totally changed and completely confused as to what the fuck had just happened to me. Was I disappointed that it wasn’t the typical dance-party/ robot-orgy fest that normally occurs at a Daft Punk live show? That’s a damn good question, and one that I can’t answer due to my almost immediate overdose following the show. All I know is that Daft Punk have crafted a perfect live show that will never be duplicated again unless you buy it on blue-ray 3D.

Older Posts »