Wavelength 450 Ninth Anniversary Festival:
Foxfire
VOWLS
I Am Robot & Proud
Thank You
Mi Ami
Sunday February 15th, 2009
Sneaky Dee’s 431 College St
Foxfire
Foxfire are mostly known for their costumes, their partying, and turning the dance floor in a sweaty pile of half naked bodies. But in the last year Foxfire have also stepped up their game musically, crafting a sly mix of pop, soul and disco with an emphasis on breakdowns and crescendos. Don’t let song titles like “Black Light, Dick Fight” fool you, these kids are more than just a flash-in-the-pan. That said, the fun? Oh man the fun. Lead man Neil Rankin dominates the stage like a televangelist casting out demons. In fact, I’m tempted to call them Gospel Disco ’cause as soon as they’re done you’ll be falling to your knees, short of breath and praying for more.
VOWLS
There was much debate at WL436 about Owls. Specifically what sense does an owl have to give up in order to see at night? Many suggestions were forthcoming, many of them were probably scientifically correct, but the one that stuck was this: If an owl can see in the dark, it forfeits it’s ability to see in the light. That’s how I came to understand the understated brilliance of Vowls, as I groped around in the dark of the song I realized that if I wanted to understand these textures of glocks and beats I had to stop looking for what I could see and instead to look for the shadows of what I was missing, suddenly polyrhythms leapt out of the sampled beats and hooks came out of the harmonies. Then everybody started to dance.
I Am Robot And Proud
Arpeggios! Swooshes! Electronic bubbles like a National Geographic special about volcanic vents at the bottom of the ocean! Soaring cirrus clouds! Rainbow halos from the ice crystals around the sun! Northern lights dancing over the shining tundra! And this is just when Shaw-Han Liem plays all alone with his ‘puters and pedals. Just imagine what would happen if he arranged this music into a full band. Well imagine no longer…
Thank You
Baltimore: You’re probably thinking of The Wire. Or John Waters. And we can’t blame you for wanting to obsessively consider either. But, right now we’re thinking of the fine tradition of spazzy post-punk bands from B-more: Lungfish, Oxes, Ponytail… and now, Thank You (ma’am). They are Jeffrey McGrath, Michael Bouyoucas and Elke Wardlaw, and they describe themselves as an “athletic rhythm/action unit,” and though that reminds me of the old Steve Kado quip about “men who practice,” I think it’s something we’re not hearing enough of. Especially around these parts, and with the recent demise of I Can Put My Arm Back On You Can’t, I think everyone who might be thinking of starting a band — and do you really know what you’re getting into? — should be showing up to this gig with a notepads in hand. What we’ve heard of Thank You and their Thrill Jockey debut Terrible Two is mighty impressive, so their Toronto premiere on Feb. 15 should be a workout for your brain and appendages.
Mi Ami
Dub: Jamaican studio culture, wherein reggae songs are stripped off their vocals, the drum and bass frequencies are tweaked, the instrumental jams are extended and drenched in reverb. Mi Ami are steeped in dub and punk — Daniel Martin McCormick and Jacob Long were once part of hyperactive, drum-heavy D.C./Dischord crew Black Eyes. Now based in San Francisco, they’re a trio with Damon Palermo on drums, and together Mi Ami are keeping alive the conversation beween dub and punk started by such bands as P.I.L. and the Pop Group in the late ’70s. Fuzz and echo coalesce around clattering rhythms and manic vocalizations; it’s one hell of a hellride to the bottom of the sea or the heart of the sun. Quarterstick, that arty offshoot of Chicago’s Touch and Go Records (once home to the Jesus Lizard, Slint, Big Black and many other Important Americans) has picked them up and disseminated their Echononecho 12″, while their full-length Watersports should be out any day now. They’re here on a double-header tour with Thank You, and we’re thrilled to have them help our Sunday night finale reach immediate lift-off.
