Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Live Review Back Pockets played like Thunderdome Sat. night
Posted by Chad Radford @ChadRad on Tue, Jul 27, 2010 at 9:00 AM
MINT gallery hosted a fundraiser show at WonderRoot on Saturday, and the scene at the end of the night felt like something lifted straight out of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Several bands including Social Studies, Roman Photos, Buffalo Bangers and more were on the bill. The Back Pockets brought it all to a close with a performance that was tied together by a strange S&M funeral theme. Theatrics are par for the course when it comes to the Back Pockets' merger of performance art and derelict indie rock. But this show felt different. The room seemed poised for something epic to go down, and the tension was palpable, like some sort of psychic mousetrap was just about to snap.
The group pushed their way to the front of the crowd in a lumbering procession, marching to the boom and scrape of microphone stands banging against the concrete floor, and aluminum baseball bats clanging together. It was already hot when the drums started. ...Easily over 100 degrees in that cramped basement. The band fired up and kids were packed in like sardines losing their minds and dancing their asses off.
- The creepiest photo I've ever taken with my iPhone
I didn't mind the holy water or the fake blood splashing on me during the show. But the crowd was surging so wildly that I was pushed against and then pretty much over the body, placing me between the cow tormentor's whip and it's intended destination. The tips of the tassels from his leather whip grazed past my face and arms and then I got the hell out of the way.
...and the band played on. It was difficult to pay close attention to the music while dodging the whip, and being caught up in the maelstrom. But the Back Pockets sound that night was a clatter of horns, keyboards and rickety percussion. Emily Kempf fronted the ragtag group, singing and strumming a banjo as they dredged through what had every appearance of a particularly heretical performance.
Philip Frobos from Carnivores hovered in the background, clanging baseballs bats, and even came to the front to sing one song before the whole scene collapsed into a post-industrial drum circle in which the group merged seamlessly with the drunken and elated mob. It was hairy, humid as hell by the end, and anyone left standing looked slightly damaged by what they had witnessed.
(Photos by Chad Radford)
Comments (2)
Showing 1-2 of 2
Our album - http://www.mediafire.com/?zzgjzium3mz
All music - no leather whips.
love love love love love love love love love love love love love
like
dislike
Sounds like they Back Pockets obviously need more space to do what the Back Pockets do so well. What would have been interesting, and I do love the imagery and picture this article paints would be an interview with several of the members who crafted this performance work on the thoughts, ideas and emotions that inspired this work. Personally the Madonna influence seems to lack a little creativity, but it does raise interesting questions like, 'What is going on inside of the muse of the ATL's greatest indie performance band?'
Latest in Crib Notes
-
Free from Fleet Foxes, Father John Misty finds his wild, fearless self 1
See his sexy dance moves at the Masquerade tonight
-
Tijuana Hercules careened through the Star Bar, but never crashed
Former Dirt frontman returned from Chicago for another round of junkyard rock 'n' roll
-
Tracklist: Nas saw Kelis as Courtney Love
- More »
More by Author
-
A day at the 35th annual Vidalia Onion Fest 1
Every small town in America celebrates a homecoming of sorts, but only one of them gave birth to the Vidalia Sweet Onion
-
Black Lips resurrected Biggie at Coachella
If you thought the Tupac hologram that Snoop and Dre pulled out at Coachella was amazing, prepare to have your mind blown again
- More »
