Today is a sad day. What follows is my most negative live review. At this point I would suggest that if you are looking for any guidance as to which bands to go and see live then you should look somewhere else. I am afraid that I am just going to tell you which ones to avoid. Of course, this is all very subjective. Oh, by the way, for this post my guest contributor will be the experimental chiropractor, William Rousseau.
Sneaky Earnest began proceedings. Here we have an undeniably talented guitar player who really needs a band. Without out one it gave the impression that a drunkard had wondered onto a stage full of discarded instruments and wobbled about improvising. Interesting and exceptional rifts were sporadic and brief and everything was hampered by the most shocking choices for loops. And the loops, instead of an opportunity for singly orchestrated layers, seemed to be being used for walking around music. Mumbled Spanish confused me and others who had heard English words spoken by said artist on entry without a hint of foreign beginnings. The whole experience seemed over-the-top pretentious or, as William testified, "extremely self indulgent". It was like listening to Rodrigo y Gabriela album filler with half the band.
Best band of the evening, Mars to Stay, arrived next with some minimalistic psych rock (maybe). Opinion forming someone stunted at start by realisation that drummer and vocalist was old classmate but real difficulty found in sussing this band was due to a mixture of them not wanting to be sussed and my experiences down this avenue very much limited to Tame Impala. So, in other words, no experience down this avenue. Echo-y lyrics indistinguishable from sometime monotonous, sometimes suspiciously beautiful notes, making it very difficult to know when the music has actually stopped and someone is saying "thank you" to provoke clapping. In the end, this band has one thing to offer, and its not especially interesting. And why did the guitarist have his back turned on the audience the whole time? A need to get over oneself perhaps, especially given the lack of mirrors (Guillemots reference that no one will get).
Long, anonymous notes return with the arrival of Natural Snow Buildings and I start to notice the background videos that have been playing all night. Attention grabbed by the prolonged image of someone's iTunes as the loop of videos has ended. This is, probably, Buffalo bar's biggest fault as a venue. The terrible, grandiloquent black and white images of people looking weird or a child wandering around. But then again, it is just what is needed to accompany similarly pompous guitars. First headlining performance I have been to where it is significantly emptier about two thirds in than at start. No one really seemed to be enjoying the experience there were whispered jokes and the obvious stances of people focused on how they were appearing to enjoy, or tolerate, the performance. You had to have something to concentrate on, the music was not distracting in any way. The little movement and meaning that arose in sections was pounced upon by the crowd before it swiftly dissipated in the rising waters of white noise. It was as if the French duo were trying to drown our senses until we succumb to the most boring of musical genres. Ethereal and ambient ingredients can give unassuming tracks the most wonderful of boosts but on their own are like a spoonfull of cinnamon, except less interesting.
Perhaps my dislike is based on an under developed musical taste and the inability to 'get' this kind of sound. If so, I am sorry. In fact, I am sorry anyway if you got this far, I really haven't got anything worth saying, to say. Not even going to spell check this one, want to put the evening in the past. Bye.
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