Greetings!! I went to hear the band Deerhoof for the first time at The Bell House in Brooklyn a couple of weeks ago. I really love the venue. It’s a large open space with exposed beams which really give it a giant barn feeling. Whomever books the joint is great. The last show I saw there was Dungen, an excellent Swedish psych-rock band. Thursday there were two other bands on the bill, Blasteroid and Really Big Pinecone. Both shared some stylistic elements of Deerhoofs music, sudden stops, tempo shifts and stark melodic lines. Blasteroid were closer to straight ahead rock but Really Big Pinecone were closer to the quirks and tics of Deerhoof. The current band members of Deerhoof are John Dieterich (guitar), Satomi Matsuzaki (vocals, bass guitar), Ed Rodriguez (guitar) and Greg Saunier (drums). Their set-up was very interesting to me…the drums were at the front of the stage. I wondered the reason for this at first but as the set went on it became clear…Satomi executes a series of stylized dance moves which alternately resemble cheer-leading and a series of signals to the powers that be. Her steps take her from the front of the stage to the back (where a drum set would normally be). The whole band really physically worked the depth of the stage. They are a technically interesting band and they rock! Saunier is a very physical player at times loose other times sharp and precise and he listens intently, sometimes tuning his snare according to what he’s hearing through it. Passion seems to be in short supply lately due to a public deluged by waves of irony, over-informed, over-indulged and just basically ‘over it’ audiences. Deerhoof live can cure you of your malaise!! They were formed in 1994, 12 albums in and thankfully they’re still at it. Do yourself a favor, check ’em out and see them live if the opportunity presents itself!

If you’re curious, this is how Dungen sound…

I’m playing a solo set Saturday Sept 5th at Silvana 300 W. 116th Street Harlem, NYC @ 3PM followed by Ben Grayson @ 4PM and Shani Gan @ 5PM

The Philip Lynch Band is playing Sunday Sept. 13th at McGoos Bronx Backyard BBQ 5602 Broadway, Bronx, NYC 21+ only $5 2:30PM Riley Fields and Sarah Jay Halliday, 3PM Lightening Crabs (Are Coming to Get Ya!) 4PM Niall Connolly, 5PM The Philip Lynch Band, 6PM Super Hi-Fi