This show caught my attention because it had been set up by WavePOP, a new indie label founded and chaired by CAMP's Cameron Andreas. Cameron has proven himself a creative, ambitious, good-natured gentleman in my conversations with him, so I wanted to wish him well and see how this concert (WavePOP's first in Boise, as far as I know) would pan out.
It certainly seemed off to a good start when I arrived at the Crux. I counted about sixty people, almost all of whom were on their feet. I imagine that the Crux made some good coin on beer this night (though they may have needed to spend a bit of it to clean the floor afterwards).
Local electronica duo Blurred-Vision filled in for Shades, some of whose members reportedly couldn't play due to illness, and opened the show. Their cute little beats and tunes had me wondering again when Crockett and Tubbs were gonna show up. The overwhelmingly hipster-ish crowd politely bounced on their feet. This set's liveliest element were the colored swirls, glowing grids and oddball live footage that played on the wall behind the stage. These montages came courtesy of the gentlemen at antimagic.
Bodybuilding poodles?
Next up was CAMP, who had apparently put themselves on the bill at the very last minute. I'm glad that they did: it gave me the chance to observe how their ease and confidence seems to have deepened since I last saw them. Drummer Pops Miranda did an especially fine job, augmenting his forward thrust with a jazzy elegance. Meanwhile, Aaron Ajeti's basslines sounded extra sinewy and Cameron Andreas's guitar as trippy as ever. Also, for the first time ever, I could make out some of the lyrics. Didn't sound bad at all. The crowd seemed to thin out quite a bit during this set, but at least the folks who stayed moved around some.
Gauntlet Hair closed out the night. This Chicago trio blended dreamy pop-tunes, light vocals and chiming guitar with droll basslines, propulsive drumming and a touch or two of howling distortion. Their tough, supple grooves got the people dancing, and antimagic's flashing squares, blurred-out live footage and swirling shapes added to the music's misterioso quality (I especially liked how they incorporated the cow skulls over the stage into the images). Hypnotic, beguiling stuff.
You can find info on these groups and WavePOP on Facebook and elsewhere online.
No comments:
Post a Comment