Live Recap: Weird Wounds and Lite Loins at the Replay Lounge

Both bands were filmed at the Replay Lounge in Lawrence, KS on January, 16 2010

More from Weird Wounds here

More from Lite Loins here

video by: Tricia Rock
edited by: Scott Stewart

Live Recap: Dirty Projectors

Dirty Projectors have recently been in the limelight of many well-established music publications. Within the last year, David Longstreth and crew have set themselves atop a list of artists that many consider nearly impossible to categorize. Flashes of Talking Heads, The Supremes, Nico, Justin Timberlake, Husker Du and probably any credible musical act of the last 200 years comprise the influences of the Dirty Projector’s unorthodox groove.

On November 9 at the Granada Theater in Lawrence, Longstreth took the stage, his tall frame draped in a white cardigan atop a navy blue and pumpernickel plaid shirt. (Actually, only two members of the band weren’t wearing plaid, making identification a bit difficult.) Most of the set list comprised of tracks off their instant classic Bitte Orca. “Cannibal Resource” and “Temecula Sunrise” displayed the band’s attention to detail and harmony. Harmonies that akin the female members of Dirty Projectors to Diva Plava Laguna, the blue alien opera singer from the 5th Element: complex, meticulous and nearly impossible to believe unless you see it for yourself. Although Amber Coffman was the most enthusiastic and entertaining lady on stage, it was Angel Deradoorian’s calm and confident demeanor that subtly garnered the attention of the crowd. Deradoorian switched from keyboard to Fender Stratocaster and back while simultaneously harmonizing with the band. She and Longstreth’s duet “Two Doves” on a damaged acoustic was the most flawless and controlled execution of the show.

Unfortunately, the two most recognizable songs from Bitte Orca fell flat. “Stillness is a Move” proved disjointed and rushed from the gates. And the final song* “Knotty Pine” suffered the same short comings, as it was obvious from the frustrated brow of Deradoorian glaring at what she may have considered an over-enthusiastic Coffman on the other side of the stage. Despite these instances, the band still managed to show why they are one of the most critically acclaimed and talented acts today.

*It must be noted that before the final song, Rathaus Graphic Designer/Contributor Scott Starrett yelled relentlessly for his favorite song “Knotty Pine.” David Longstreth’s response: “Well, I’d hate to not oblige that.” With a voice that carries, Starrett drew the gazes of  the entire crowd our way and it is my belief that the botched execution of the song may have been a result of our overenthusiastic fan. If so, we apologize for startling you Dirty Projectors.

photos by: Scott Starrett
words by: Bene Garcia

Live Recap: Wavves

Immediately following Ganglians’ set Tuesday night at the Jackpot Music Hall, a tribe of previously docile hipsters charged the stage with bursting energy. By no means a slight against Ganglians, it was merely the excitement a Wavves performance garners from those young enough to throw elbows in the pit and rock skin-tight jeans. One such kid tapped me on the shoulder, presumably because of the camera around my neck, to warn me of the ensuing insanity I was about to witness not on stage but from the audience itself. Further questioning revealed that “it got pretty out of control last time I saw a Wavves show.” Needless to say, there was a palpable buzz in the front of the crowd that surrounded the always cramped stage of the Jackpot that night. They came to hear good pop music – albeit a fuzzed out, Niravnaesque version of it, they came to dance, and more importantly to “get a little crazy.” They would not be disappointed.

Armed only with a Marshall stack nearly twice his size, one of best living drummers – Zach Hill of Hella fame and a handful of lo-fi pop-punk songs, Zach Williams aka Wavves tore into a ramshackle version of “I’m So Bored.” With the first lazy chord strum and Zach Hill’s commencing drum clinic, motion exploded all around. By the third song of nearly pure distortion and greasy fast drum fills, the motion had turned into a mosh pit sing along. Prompting Williams to inform the audience that “we’re just going to fuck up every song tonight!” The crowd cheered, Wavves was feeding off their energy and giving them what they wanted.

From there Williams seemed to loosen up, more comfortable with any imprecision and willing to sweat his ass off because of the appreciative response. Sporadic fits of headbanging erupted from both band and crowd, while new converts joined in the melee near the front. Notes were missed and a false start or two occurred but Wavves continued to plow though the ridiculously catchy material, including my personal favorite “No  Hope Kids.” There was not a dry t-shirt in the crowd and everyone had taken their fair share of lumps from falling bodies as Hill kept the set moving with a perfect beat, playing the foil to Williams’ inclination toward no-wave guitar madness.

And then it was over as fast as it began. Calls for an encore died quickly as the house lights came up. It’s not that they didn’t want more, they simply understood what rock and roll is supposed to be about – abrasive pop tunes played from the gut so intensely that when it’s over the musicians respectfully have to say, fuck you I’m done.

video by Tricia Rock

by: Brent Carter