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Tour Dates
09/16/13 Boston, MA Royale Nightclub Boston
09/17/13 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall Of Williamsburg 09/18/13 New York, NY Webster Hall 09/19/13 New York, NY Webster Hall 09/20/13 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer 09/21/13 Washington, DC 9:30 Club 09/22/13 Carrboro, NC Cat's Cradle 10/18/13 "SWN Festival" 11/06/13 London, United Kingdom Roundhouse 11/09/13 "Fun Fun Fun Fest" 11/16/13 Athens, GA 40 Watt Club 12/01/13 Tokyo, Japan Ebisu Garden Hall 12/03/13 Seoul, South Korea Rolling Hall Read More Atlanta-based indie punks Deerhunter are back on tour in promotion of their fifth studio album. Recorded entirely on an 8 track, Bradford Cox (frontman) …
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Whether you love or hate Bradford Cox, or simply don't 'get' him, it's a well regarded fact that he makes fantastic music as the brains behind both bands Deerhunter and Atlas Sound. He and his full-time band Deerhunter played at the Fine Line last Monday evening to a nearly sold-out house. They were touring in support of 2013's Monomania.
It was a night full of bizarre stage antics by the aforementioned Cox, drawn-out instrumental drones at the ends of songs, and overall great musicianship. If you had gone to the show expecting each song to be executed exactly as they play out on each respective album, well, you would have been a little disappointed. Most songs would start out recognizable and could even be sung along to, but once it neared its "end", all hell would break loose in the form of delay, reverb and feedback until you had nearly forgotten what it had originally begun as. That said, there were some gems of the night, including "T.H.M.', 'Desire Lines' (featuring straightforward vocals and delivery by guitarist Lockett Pundt, as well as a triple-guitar attack full of awesome harmonies), 'Don't Cry', 'Agorophobia' and 'Revival'.
Bradford Cox didn't do too much talking between songs, save for a memory he recalled from the last time they played Minneapolis where he experienced an encounter with a racist person outside the venue, to requesting beer before starting a song, and mentioning they came from 'down South'. Deerhunter played through their extremely long and interesting set, ending with 'Monomania'. They left their equipment still rattling with feedback and came back for the encore, which included the songs 'Neon Junkyard' and 'Fluorescent Grey'.
It was during the encore where things got a bit weird, including Cox putting his hand down his pants doing who-knows-what and even stroking his mic stand in a very sexually evocative way. His onstage presence certainly proves he does not give one iota of care as to what people think of him; in fact, the more shocking, the better. Vocals became a lot less decipherable and morphed into screams and delay-heavy howls, as they band played the songs out as long and as necessarily repetitive for Cox to "do his thing" in the way of antics. Cox donned a black wig throughout most of their set and randomly tore it off during the middle of a song, which was slightly shocking. There was also a moment during the last encore song 'Fluorescent Grey' where Cox got close enough to the crowd where people were touching his guitar/body and a show-goer thought it a good idea to snatch his wig off from his head. Immediately after this, Cox slammed his guitar down, furiously jumped off the stage and into the crowd, reclaimed his wig and then continued on with the song.
Despite my initial shock and the overall odd feeling Cox gave me while watching him perform, Deerhunter puts on a live show that fans of the band, including those who can appreciate extended experimental displays of songs they love, should not miss. They have dumped all boring expectations of watching a band merely showcase their musical prowess in exchange for a rich, even if at times beyond eccentric, performance. They are on tour in the US only for another week, where they will head to Europe and even Japan and Australia until near the end of the year.
It was a night full of bizarre stage antics by the aforementioned Cox, drawn-out instrumental drones at the ends of songs, and overall great musicianship. If you had gone to the show expecting each song to be executed exactly as they play out on each respective album, well, you would have been a little disappointed. Most songs would start out recognizable and could even be sung along to, but once it neared its "end", all hell would break loose in the form of delay, reverb and feedback until you had nearly forgotten what it had originally begun as. That said, there were some gems of the night, including "T.H.M.', 'Desire Lines' (featuring straightforward vocals and delivery by guitarist Lockett Pundt, as well as a triple-guitar attack full of awesome harmonies), 'Don't Cry', 'Agorophobia' and 'Revival'.
Bradford Cox didn't do too much talking between songs, save for a memory he recalled from the last time they played Minneapolis where he experienced an encounter with a racist person outside the venue, to requesting beer before starting a song, and mentioning they came from 'down South'. Deerhunter played through their extremely long and interesting set, ending with 'Monomania'. They left their equipment still rattling with feedback and came back for the encore, which included the songs 'Neon Junkyard' and 'Fluorescent Grey'.
It was during the encore where things got a bit weird, including Cox putting his hand down his pants doing who-knows-what and even stroking his mic stand in a very sexually evocative way. His onstage presence certainly proves he does not give one iota of care as to what people think of him; in fact, the more shocking, the better. Vocals became a lot less decipherable and morphed into screams and delay-heavy howls, as they band played the songs out as long and as necessarily repetitive for Cox to "do his thing" in the way of antics. Cox donned a black wig throughout most of their set and randomly tore it off during the middle of a song, which was slightly shocking. There was also a moment during the last encore song 'Fluorescent Grey' where Cox got close enough to the crowd where people were touching his guitar/body and a show-goer thought it a good idea to snatch his wig off from his head. Immediately after this, Cox slammed his guitar down, furiously jumped off the stage and into the crowd, reclaimed his wig and then continued on with the song.
Despite my initial shock and the overall odd feeling Cox gave me while watching him perform, Deerhunter puts on a live show that fans of the band, including those who can appreciate extended experimental displays of songs they love, should not miss. They have dumped all boring expectations of watching a band merely showcase their musical prowess in exchange for a rich, even if at times beyond eccentric, performance. They are on tour in the US only for another week, where they will head to Europe and even Japan and Australia until near the end of the year.
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Deerhunter at the Fine Line Music Cafe, Minneapolis (09/09/13) |
