With this review I am going to start trying to post pictures (when I have them). Pictures will be posted shortly after the review is complete (so they'll show up first when reading the blog). I thought about putting the pictures in the text, but that's too complicated, and probably not ideal for reading/viewing.
Despite being advertised as a block party, this show took place entirely indoors at Secret Project Robot. I suspect that this had something to do with the fact that it rained for nearly the entire day, but since I never saw anything set up outside, I really don't know if this was their plan all along. When we arrived, it was raining pretty hard. I might have blown this one off, but Oneida performing a 2nd show later that night in their studio, and I needed to be there before they played at 5:30 to pick up our tickets.
So I was pleasantly surprised when we arrived at 5:15 to see that the show/party was entirely indoors, I was a bit frustrated to see that there were no performances at the time and that I was unable to find anyone in Oneida (I had contacted the drummer, Kid Millions, on MySpace in order to request tickets), but eventually we ran into Hanoi Jane (Oneida's lead guitarist), and he was nice enough to give me two tickets. Then Kid Millions showed up as well as Dave, the long haired guy I've seen at nearly every Oneida show since moving here (he was also in the band for one weekend). I learned that Raphael Saadiq, the asshole who cut into 30 minutes of Oneida's set time last week, was actually a member of Toni! Tone! Tony! Jane seemed amused that Saadiq's long set had made me angry. Still kind of angry about that.
Now you might think that for a self professed superfan, a chance to speak with the musicians of a favorite band is something to celebrate. However, the truth is more complicated. While the guys in Oneida are exceedingly nice and approachable, not every musician is. And no one wants to look like a dork in front of their favorite bands. But what about when the band members are extremely nice and approachable like Oneida? Well then you face another problem. My primary interaction with these people is watching them perform, yelling after each song and dancing/flailing about until I'm out of my mind. There's something about this kind of relationship that makes casual social interaction inherently strange to me. While I've still been able to thoroughly enjoy performances by musicians I've spoken to (and even share friends with), I still find it somewhat disconcerting to break down the social barriers between artist and fan.
But enough of that bullshit. How was the show/party? I'm curious how this thing would have been received if it were an outdoor performance. I kind of think it benefited by being moved inside by the rain (assuming that's what happened). The performance spaces felt very full during every performance. This is probably a good thing, since not all of them were so great. And since Secret Project Robot is located in a pretty desolate part of Williamsburg, we would have been faced with a pretty empty block party rather than a packed party at an art gallery (.
Well the first "performance" that we were able to see was some sort of performance art thing in the basement area. Since none of the performance spaces actually had a stage, it was extremely difficult to see much of anything without being in one of the first three rows. All we were able to see were painted people flailing about and yelling while someone made noise with his guitar. After getting bored rather quickly, we decided to go back upstairs and relax in a more ventilated room. The next performance upstairs was some sort of noise band. It took us about 5 minutes to get bored of them (never bothered to catch their name) and move back downstairs to wait for Oneida to set up.
Apparently the art performance had been very messy because the whole floor was being mopped up by several people who were covered in paint. Once the cleanup was done, we were able to get a spot (almost) at the front for Oneida. There was just one long haired guy in an American flag vest that was all over the place. Rather than set up to noisy obnoxious music, soft jazz was playing on the speakers while Oneida set up. This was a nice change of pace. I really don't have much to say about this set. They played Pre-Teen Weaponry for the fourth time that I've seen. It was good, but I would have liked to hear something else this time around. The 2nd and last song was a short (for a live performance) version of "Snow Machine". And then they were done. I would have been a bit disappointed, but it was a free show, and we were going to see a 2nd set later that night.
By the time we got back upstairs, this band called Comas (I think that's what they said) was playing. They sounded pretty noisy, angry and good, and I would have liked to see them, but I was hungry and didn't really want to miss the Ex-Models, so we went to eat and were lucky enough to find a decent restaurant a few blocks away. When we got back, The Ex-Models seemed to be mostly set up downstairs, and there was another band set up upstairs. So we had no idea who was playing next or where. We walked around a bit more looking at the art. And then a procession of scantily (and in one case, naked) people walked by with white paint on their bodies. The procession led downstairs for another "art" piece. This one was some sort of human sacrifice. I wasn't impressed. If this had been the introduction to some sort of band with talent, then I might have been intrigued. But on its own, it did nothing for me. Just some naked people acting weird.
And now (since I don't really know where else to put it), a word about the audience at the show. One word: hipsters. By now, complaining about hipsters has gone beyond cliche. But they're real. And they're all over Williamsburg. And they were out in force last night. The bad haircuts, tight pants, tattoos, bad dancing, artistic pretentiousness (we were in an art gallery after all, and 2 of the performances were "art" pieces). I'm not really complaining. Other than a few people who were a bit too drunk/excited, the show was plenty of fun. And I enjoy people watching. And even if the "art" performances were kind of silly and pointless, it certainly made this one of the most interesting shows I've been to. I may not really enjoy art that much, but it was nice to be in a place that was more interesting than your typical bar.
So after having some technical issues while setting up (one of the guitarists amps started to smoke), The Ex-Models finally played. Unfortunately the guitarist continued to have technical difficulties throughout the show. As a result, the Ex-Models only played two songs. The first was an extremely repetitive and abrasive number that is more easily appreciated at a distance for the energy and skill that goes into it. The second song they played was a wonderful mix of noisy guitarwork and tribal drumming. It was a real shame that they couldn't play more.
And then back upstairs for the final band of the actual party, Golden Triangles. From their set-up (two female singers with tambourines, 2 guitarists, drums and bass guitar) they looked like they'd be some type of girl-fronted garage rock band. And that was almost right. The sound was too muddy to be garage rock, but they definitely had that kind of energy. The vocals were somewhat abrasive, but the energy of the singers was infectious. The drummer actually did pretty well when he sang. The drummer and bassist were probably the strongest musicians in the band. One song towards the end had a really good bass groove, but inexplicably fell apart.
The crowd went crazy for pretty much the entire set. By the end, there was no division between the band and the rest of people dancing to the music. That was fine, but it got a bit out of control when people kept bumping into the PA speaker and one jackass decided to spray beer everywhere. I did enjoy watching the guitarist play half a song while being held up by the audience. At the end of the show, the band seemed to be leaving and then abruptly dove right into another song. I think by the time Golden Triangles played, most everyone there was pretty drunk. Or maybe they were just that good. I was certainly pleasantly surprised.
And then finally, the moment I'd been waiting for. The show in Oneida's studio for the recording of a live album. Bobby, Jane and Shahin were all wearing absurd burgundy jackets. The space was extremely cramped, and I was lucky enough to get a spot by the steps leading to the control room. Partially because of the strange set up (the band played in a circle facing some of the audience members while others stood by the door. space was tight), it was not the typical concert atmosphere. Oneida passed around beer and champagne (and other stuff) to the audience, I think hoping to get a looser crowd response. I tried to do my part, cheering loudly and yelling for them to "play something by Oneida!" But a fair amount of time was spent with the various members of Oneida talking among eachother and telling jokes.
The material was entirely new. I hadn't heard any of these songs played live before. There were at least two minute long free-noise freakouts. A couple small instrumental numbers featuring just a couple members of the band. Of the songs, only a couple really stood out for me. One was what I'd consider classic (at least these days) Oneida: a punishing keyboard/drum groove with noisy and fierce guitarwork on top. Another song featured both Shahin and Kid Millions on the drums. The closer was a long jam that unfortunately didn't captivate me as much as some of their other long jams have. But by that point, the room felt like an oven, and I was sort of looking forward to the end. Which is a shame, because the song really seemed to be getting into a good groove by the end. But then it was over. And as nice as everyone had been, I just wanted to thank the band and get into the cool air as soon as possible. Hopefully I'll be able to listen to that show again soon.
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