Last night Nite Jewel, Eric Hnatow, and Triangle Forest played at Smith's Davis Ballroom (not in the campus center as I had thought) to about forty or fifty people, maximum. By the end there weren't even two dozen left standing. It's really a shame that a) people didn't know about the show (due to hyper-individualism or low publicity on the part of WOZQ) or b) the show was scheduled during Smith midterm exams. There was far more space in that room, and certainly far, far more students at Smith and in the area that would have had a blast if they forked over the mere $5 for entry.
Triangle Forest opened, but honestly I wish they hadn't even played. It was embarrassing watching the trio churn out song after song, each sounding exactly like the one preceding. To top it off, there was no drum set, just a man sitting behind a drum-pad and a kick-drum-pad clicking out what could have easily been pounded out on an actual set. This faux-instrumentation was supplemented by some sort of robot guitar, as well as a robotic vocal manipulation. At least the Chromeo-sounding voice was a break from the singer's grating whine, which resembled the pompous sneer of Spoon's Britt Daniel. All this boredom wasn't helped by the two keyboard players just standing there like manikins. Also, you'd think these electronics buffs would have all their shit down, but there were multiple malfunctions that they blatantly let everyone know about.
Mr. Hnatow, our savior, went on next. "I don't want to be the main feature," Eric said, and, while he wasn't, he sure was a hell of a lot better than the first act. He played stuff from his newest EP, none of which I know the names of, but it was all fun, glitchy, heavy, and spacey. He donned the light jacket and reached for the ceiling. The jacket's coming to be a real trademark even though he only wears it for one song. Last night he busted out a rap that his brother Tim wrote, which he delivered whilst running and place and generally flailing. He honestly keeps getting better, and what's not to love when the guy keeps all his hand-made posters and gives them out for free (still) at each show, along with stickers and glow-in-the-dark patches.
By the time Nite Jewel went on, it didn't seem like anyone was there anymore. It wasn't even really that late, but everyone was sleeping. Nite Jewel would have put dreams in their heads if they had attended, but they did not, so we can assume they were consumed by nite-mares. Ramona the short, along with her tall companion (whose name is escaping me), did her thing and, while the two just stood and rocked back and forth (one of my issues with Triangle Forest), they were endlessly mesmerizing. After their first song Ramona prematurely blurted out "I'm gonna play a few more songs," a dry take on bands' tendency to stick around on stage for too long after saying they're almost done (which Triangle Forest definitely did). They did do more, many more, including new tracks appearing on an upcoming or newly released 12" as well as my favorites from Good Evening (Human Ear Music) "Weak For Me," "Chimera," and "Lover," which ended the set.
I'm coming to realize that a lot of Nite Jewel songs remind me of something I cannot recall, but the thought materializes itself as a 70s TV jingle with period-appropriate fonts and animations. One more thing to mention: Ramona has to go back to L.A. to finish her last semester at Occidental. Hopefully after school she keeps on with the sleepy dance jams cos, honestly, everyone can use a soundtrack to a warm, streetlamp-lit summer night and the sounds of Good Evening are perfect for such an instance.
MORE:
Drum pad man gets funky
Eric
Eric
Keyboard made entirely of walrus tusk ivory, for sure-----------------------------------------------------------------
Unrelated:
So this guy was on the bus on the way to Northampton (I'm not a creep, I swear) and I couldn't help but be hypnotized by his paper folding. When I first got on the bus, he was sitting there with a circular piece of paper, creased many, many times in beautiful geometric patterns, like one of those snowflakes you make in elementary school but with no (safety) scissors. He proceeded to fold the sheet into a small box, triangles repeating and spiraling into each other to close the box at its top. He did this once, put it away, and took out another sheet, which he halved, folding both pieces into similar kinked strips, which he interlocked into a sort of crown. He put this away and took out the circle paper box again, folding and refolding each and every crease therapeutically, all the while completely enveloped in himself and his incessant folding. I'd like a lesson someday, paper folding man, wherever you are.
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