The Oxes came on at about 11 PM. These three skinny, sour faced man-children immediately launched into a measured, precision double guitar and drum pantomime that bordered on the ecstatic. Every minute of this tightly coiled, high-strung performance could be isolated, taken completely out of context, and it would sound like some brilliant pop hook. Some crazy bearded guy on acid next to me told me that he had seen Man or Astroman last week, and The Oxes' brilliant performance took a giant shit all over that pansy surf guitar tripe. The trio's well-known penchant for standing on boxes and speakers was certainly present on this night, although it seemed so purposeful and appropriate, it was hard to dismiss it as mere cheap stage dramatics.
Trans Am came on at 12:30 PM, and after a brief vocoder greeting, launched into a loud synth-punk anthem that literally brought the emo-weaned audience to their knees. Their set was drawn mostly from Red Line, with a few songs from Surrender to the Night to break up the monotony. The synthesizer/vocoder songs were usually bookended by guitar-based numbers. The walls of raucous, Gary Numan synths and super-creative drumming on "I Want It All" made a beautiful cacophony that must have had them scratching their heads next door at the Latino dance club. All in all, a wonderful performance by a playful and talented trio that continue to confound and surprise the expectations of their audience.
