So I saw Mouse on Mars last night in DC. Since someone was asking about
them recently on here, I thought I'd post a quick review.
Junior Boys and Ratatat opened. I missed most of the Junior Boys' set,
but what I caught makes me want to check out some more. Not really IDM,
it sounded more like poppy electro-funk from what I heard. Ratatat was
epic electronic post-rock somewhat in the style of Mogwai or Godspeed
You! Black Emperor, but more more emphasis on electronic aspects. It
was enjoyable enough but didn't really grab my attention.
If you want to go see Mouse on Mars on this tour, I'd definitely advise
checking out some of the material from their new album first. It's very
different from a lot of their older work. The whole thing is based
around funk, hip-hop and R&B, and is a lot more vocal-heavy than
anything I've heard by them before. I was surprised when I first heard
Radical Connector a few weeks ago, but once I got into the album, I
fully expected the show to be mainly devoted to this sound, since
that's what bands do when they tour for an album, right?
Nonetheless, I was completely surprised when they took the stage not as
a couple of pale, skinny German guys standing behind a table full of
laptops and electronic gear, but as a full-on funk band, with who I've
now determined is Dodo Nkishi playing a drum kit and singing live
vocals over most of the tracks, and Andi Toma playing bass guitar for
nearly all of the set (St. Werner, admittedly, was standing behind a
table full of laptops and electronic gear the whole time... but I guess
someone had to be). Within the course of half an hour they managed to
whip up a room full of jaded hipsters into a dancing frenzy. Their new
sound reminds me of what made classic electro-funk by the likes of
George Clinton so great--it was weird and spaced-out but still grimy,
funky and danceable. I thought it was great, but anyone expecting
Vulvaland would be advised to check out their new album before going to
see them live, or you might be in for a shock.
--
Tim Moore
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org
For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org