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Friday night I took in what I'd like to call an experimental indie rock show in what I'd like to call the "crypt" of the First Unitarian Church (actually, it's just the basement). The evening began with a performance by a two-piece band called Ching Chong Song. We weren't even aware this group was on the bill, and so were pleasantly surprised in more ways than one. It's hard to describe exactly what they sound like; the only band that really comes to mind is Red Krayola - yes, they're that weird. Lead singer Julia LaMendola performed some fascinating vocal gymnastics - lilting, whispering, and growling out songs about death, the afterlife, and masturbaters - all while Daniel Gower accompanied her on keyboard and backing vocals. Oh, and did I mention LaMendola also played the saw? She even joked about doing a lengthy saw solo, although thankfully she did not make good on that threat; one can stand only just so much saw playing.
Next up was a performer I'd seen open for someone before (was it Beck at the Electric Factory? I think so, but I'm not sure): Corn Mo. I did not enjoy Corn Mo's one-man show the first time I saw it, but this time, even though it was pretty much exactly the same show, I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. I don't know why. Maybe it was the fact that I was now more familiar with his antics, or the fact that this was a far more appropriate atmosphere and more appreciative crowd for his kind of thing.
And what is Corn Mo's kind of thing? Well, he plays either the accordion or keyboard while singing at a surprisingly high pitch, and the topics of his songs are mainly time travel and making out - and it's mostly those two things that he babbles on about between songs, nervously adjusting and re-adjusting the mic stand throughout. As my fellow editor (and fellow concert-goer) Star pointed out, Corn Mo is sort of like Meatloaf with an accordion. If Meatloaf had no band (besides an audio tape), and was even cheesier, goofier, and more interesting. The highlight of Corn Mo's performance was easily his final song, a heavy metal version of "Hava Nagila."
Last up was the headliner, the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players.
(More after the jump...)
These guys are a bit of a sensation on the indie circuit, and have a totally fascinating gimmick, that being, if you don't already know, the following: they're a real family of three (well, four, if you count the dog, who joined them on stage for a short while before being banished by the father as too much of a distraction) - a father, mother, and their merchandised-to-an-alarming-and-in-fact-almost-creepy-extent 12-year-old daughter - who purchase slideshow photos from yard sales and the like, and write songs about the photos, which they then perform (in appropriately '50s/'60s/'70s era outfits) while the photos are projected on a screen behind them. Their music is bouncy indie pop, and the lyrics mainly just sort of describe what's going on in the slides, sometimes adding silly commentary.
This was my first time seeing the group live, and I have to say to my surprise that I enjoyed them the least of all of the performers. In their defense, it did seem to be a bit of an off night for them. They tried playing a new song, and it didn't go so well; even after quitting and restarting, they still couldn't quite get the timing right. In fact, even in their older songs - which they should have theoretically perfected by now - their timing was often off. Also, Star and I were both disappointed that there wasn't more interplay between the band members. Only the father addressed the audience, and he was so nervous - stuttering and repeating himself constantly - that he was frankly quite difficult to listen to. Multiple times I found myself wishing he would just get on with it and play the next song.
But I don't want to make it sound like they were all bad. A number of the songs were executed quite well; the slides were often truly fascinating (it's seriously weird what people will photograph sometimes); and Mr. Trachtenburg's inter-song banter was often quite clever and amusing. Who knows, maybe if I see them again I'll like them just fine, as happened to me with Corn Mo. I think the Trachtenburgs have a great idea here, and maybe in the future I can see them execute it more successfully. And anyway, as I said, this is experimental stuff, and sometimes experiments go wrong.
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