by John Miller
Lance Neptune - The first act on tonight’s bill was a one man band. With his Macintosh and mixing board he filled the room with compositions whose characteristics would be quite prominent tonight; chill. From what I little know about this type of performance, the compositions, the beats are simply preloaded onto a computer and played through amplifiers; any little adjustments being made by a mixing board. That’s not to say that this music isn’t difficult to make, far from it; I have been in many a basement and garage hovering over the shoulder of producers as they micromanage each and every sound. That said it is difficult to really gauge what is going on behind that computer screen; as an audience we cannot see the effort and passion it takes to make these songs and it’s an interesting problem to have when the crowd is so sparse. I imagine with a larger more inebriated crowd, I would be able to really see the passion behind these pieces through the moving participants.
Lance Neptune - The first act on tonight’s bill was a one man band. With his Macintosh and mixing board he filled the room with compositions whose characteristics would be quite prominent tonight; chill. From what I little know about this type of performance, the compositions, the beats are simply preloaded onto a computer and played through amplifiers; any little adjustments being made by a mixing board. That’s not to say that this music isn’t difficult to make, far from it; I have been in many a basement and garage hovering over the shoulder of producers as they micromanage each and every sound. That said it is difficult to really gauge what is going on behind that computer screen; as an audience we cannot see the effort and passion it takes to make these songs and it’s an interesting problem to have when the crowd is so sparse. I imagine with a larger more inebriated crowd, I would be able to really see the passion behind these pieces through the moving participants.
Like the music, the crowd was very chill and laid back
tonight, the booths of DC9 filled with those taking in this very easy going
music. Occasionally Lance would look towards the only corner with movement with
a goofy smile, no doubt mugging for his friends as they enjoy the output and
dance sparsely. Towards the end of the set the beats became more ambitious, the
quiet mixed with the thumping bass. The only real issue I found with the set
was it was difficult to tell when things ended; we were at the mercy of Neptune
to let us know when to clap and sometimes dance.
Heavenly Beat - It feels as if this recent chillwave boom has been building
for some time now. I can remember similar acts breaking through in the early 2000s.
I wonder why it has taken so long for this particular genre to permeate the
public’s conscience. One particular characteristic of this genre are the
laidback, often quiet vocals that accompany the synth heavy pieces. Heavenly
Beat is no exception; the first thing I notice are the vocals; they are not
particularly strong, wispy, and often drowned out by the monstrous backing
tracks that accompany this three piece. Heavenly Beat is more synth-pop than
chillwave and the aforementioned backing tracks are really something to dance
to, like really dance. Though the crowd has grown in size, they have yet to
really move. But that isn’t to say that is the fault of the band as it may be
too early in the evening for mindless movement; not enough alcohol has been consumed.
The bass is thumping along with the backing piece and the occasional keyboard
stabs remind me of an early Phoenix. A harmonica even made an appearance tonight
and surprisingly it fit seamlessly.
Teen Daze - This band is doing it live tonight. While there may be some
kind of backing somewhere (though I didn’t see any), there are keys and drums
and it makes a difference right off the bat. The immediacy one has with a
keyboard as opposed to backing or preloaded beats is significant. One can play
games with the instrument, allowing the feel of the show to somewhat control
the instrument’s output (though that could be said about any instrument). Immediately
I notice games being played with cutoff and tone. The cutoff games compliment the
music as the result produces long naturalistic sounds; breezes and light drizzle.
Vocally these pieces are similar to Heavenly Beat; light, non-offensive and not
particularly strong; though throughout the evening the vocals are layered with
harmonies from several members of the band which help mask some of the weakness
and ultimately they kind of remind me of Crosby Stills Nash and Young. Weird
right? Who knew that a classic rock influence would make an appearance tonight
with these electronic heavy bands? There is even some 70s Pink Floyd too. That’s
not to say Teen Daze’s sound is steeped in this classic rock radio sound, more
undercurrent than anything else. I too am reminded of early 2000 acts Zero 7
and to a lesser extent The Postal Service.
As the evening continues more and more couples arrive and make their way
to the floor. This inoffensive music is easy to dance to; there isn’t anything
too bombastic so one wouldn’t have to feel overtly self conscience about movement.
A simple foot tap, swaying to and fro, not a lot to worry about because the
chance of any uncoordinated movements rearing their ugly head is minimal at
best. It’s safe, not many chances were taken tonight but who’s to say there is
anything wrong with being comfortable.
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