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Live review: !!!
Who knew, pulsing afterhours club music would work so well on a rainy Saturday afternoon at the park?
A flock of 15-year-olds pushed their way to the front as the Brooklyn-based dance rock outfit kicked off their set, layering pulsing bass, funky guitar riffs and horn punches over an electro-conga groove. As a drizzle escalated into a downpour halfway through the group’s first song, lead singer Nic Offer seemed to revel in the deluge. He worked the crowd with a shoulder shake, hip swivel and furious falsetto. Throughout the set he tossed out ample obscenities, danced scandalously with a microphone and spent a good part of the set on the lawn in front of the stage, even jumping the barrier into the crowd at one point.
Meanwhile the band kept up the dense grooves, which smashed together elements of afro-pop, funk, punk and electronica. And the people kept moving.
Toward the end of their set Offer explained the band’s conundrum. “We’re like moody nightclub music and it’s like 2 in the afternoon. So you might want to close your eyes or something. There’s colors in your eyes.” Then the band shifted into a more downtempo groove with ambient keys while bubbles floated ethereally over the stage. Most likely it was less the tempo change than the fact that buzz band Grizzly Bear was getting ready to perform across the field that motivated it, but a minor exodus cleared the field as the band began to close their set.
Nonetheless, !!! drove it home, with frenetic percussion, blasts of horns and a beat that would not stop.
Jay Janner photo
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Permalink | | Categories: ACL 2009: Saturday, ACL Festival 2009
