Deerhunter and Battles at South Street Seaport
Posted at 11:42:18 AM in Musicby Citysearch Intern
Note: The entire September 3, 2007 Battles and Deerhunter photo album is here.
South Street Seaport Music Festival wrapped up another great season last Friday with performances from Deerhunter and Battles. Against the backdrop of Financial District skyscrapers, majestic ships, and the Brooklyn skyline, the two unique bands threw down two solid sets to end the summertime party.
Deerhunter kept it clean; there was none of the bad ass cross-dressing, fake blood, or on stage "relations" they've been noted for in the past. While this was a little disappointing to those who'd never seen them and expected a spectacle, I can't really complain about how they kept their focus squarely on the music. Their combination of punk, psych, and electro comes out sounding fresh and original every time, and turns audience members into schizophrenics who don't know whether to mosh, dance, or sway pensively back and forth. Try doing them all at once and you appear truly insane.
Battles has a very different but equally odd sound. While many electronically based bands set most of their samples ahead of time and dance around in between pushing buttons and triggers, the members of Battles create nearly everything live, including vocal samples. Their credentials are formidable; the members hail variously from underground 90s groups Lynx and Don Caballero (guitarists Dave Konopka and Ian Williams) and metal giant Helmet (drummer John Stanier). Tyondai Braxton, the likeliest candidate for a frontman (he sometimes takes a break from keyboards, guitar and gizmos to sing through mixers that make him sound like an evil, impish robot) is the son of the avant-garde jazz musician Anthony Braxton. But Battles bear little resemblance to any of their aforementioned curriculum vitae, preferring to stand on their own bizarre feet. This band singlehandedly proves that gadget-based math rock isn't just for calculus nerds. When the catchy glitter beat and twitchy keyboard line of their single "Atlas" began, the eclectic crowd of indie rockers, hip-hoppers, and techno geeks all went nuts.
As a cool fall-like breeze blew in across the river, I couldn't help wondering where the hell summer had gone. But if the seaport festival couldn't make summer last forever, it at least ended the season in style, and I know it will be back next year like Christmas with some more great free concerts.
Note: The entire September 3, 2007 Battles and Deerhunter photo album is here.
--Jamie Peck
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