May 10, 2003, Brighton, UK
The Fat Cat label has always been a haven for interesting idiosyncratic
music with an experimental edge, and they've constantly sought to
expose new artists, so it wasn't surprising that I'd only heard half
the artists on this label showcase in an all-seated theatre venue. One
is still a marginal mystery. Appropriately due to drowsiness, we
arrived a little late and missed Drowsy who was described by earlier
arrivals as a one-man folk-strumming funeral. Crescent are a band
who've been around in some shape or form for quite a while and an
obvious comparison is Hood, with maybe some Soft Machine influence? No
other band in the UK really sounds much like them though. They play
fragile ruminations on the beauty of nature, with sax, keyboards and
what looks like a home made double bass meandering streams along. The
weak spot is the rodent-like singer who is totally flat. Although his
lyrics fit the music really well, I'd rather have heard the band play
instrumentals.
The Animal Collective are two possessed nerds from France who sit next
to each other strumming very odd and original unchord shapes from their
guitars whilst yapping immature over-excitement about pregnancy and
other things that make them happy. They were pretty funny. Most
everyone was agreed that they'd never heard anything quite like them,
and if you like Half Japanese you'd probably also like them. The venue
was perfect for Semiconductor's upbeat laptop visions, and the huge
video game visuals projected at the screen that had descended over the
stage were just the right journey for my drunken head to take at that
point. I probably enjoyed them the most and was left energised and
eager to hear more. David Grubbs came on alone and played a typically
sparse instrumental on a grand piano and then some songs on acoustic
guitar. I enjoyed him a lot more when he played with a band, and I can
never help thinking that it seems quite unlikely that he'll ever make
another record as great as those last couple of Gastr Del Sol albums.
Black Dice headlined and made a similar noise to their recent Beaches and Canyons
album although I'm pretty sure none of the material was replicated or
if it was they'd drastically deconstructed it. They were at their best
when the two effects twiddlers let out a prolonged climactic
noiseburst. I'd have much rather seen them in a more intimate venue
where they might've stood more chance of overwhelming the senses.
Despite perfect sound, I wanted it louder so I could drown in it and
they seemed a little static behind their wired tables.
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