The Man that Rhythm Forgot - Deerhunter at the Corner

Ok .... Deerhunter at the Corner - up there with some of the best gigs ever ... oh and P was there too ... I know ... could you die?? We may finally have knocked the soundtrack smarts right out of him!! Oh and whats with the curtain at the Corner?? I do like it!

Isn’t it weird that for a number of days leading up to this gig, the B52s have been playing on my mind and indeed on my iPod. They used to be Atlanta Georgia’s finest (hhmmm - or is that Athens Georgia?? .. damn this would have worked so well!) but that gauntlet has been passed on several times since their heyday and the burden now rests squarely on Bradford Cox’s skinny shoulders.

His shoulders are more than ample, despite the fact that he “suffers” from Marfan syndrome. Marfan syndrome, so Wiki “reliably” informs me, is a “genetic disorder of the connective tissue”. People affected by this condition generally appear stretched – they’re usually tall, incredibly thin, with gaunt skeletal faces … although I couldn’t really tell as from my vantage point Bradford was hidden behind a bank of suspended bass bins .. oh and of course tall people .. don’t forget the tall people … who invariably push in front and can never quite stand still. Singers should always be front and centre … or they should not be allowed to go on otherwise!!! (The little glimpses I caught reminded me of Lanky!! My IT lifeline no longer!)

Anyhoo, they’re not the most attractive band lets face it … oh but the sound!!!! 2 guitars, bass and drums and a whole lot of effects pedals … this shit was big!! I just wanted the waves to keep building and building … whoever was at the mixing desk was doing a very fine job indeed. This was not the emotional surge of Sigur Ros, it was more an intellectual response I was having, but this isn’t a dismissive comment. One hits the heart, the other the head … but it’s the punch that matters. There was a point where a vocalesed section kept playing in the background sounding like "banshees for BVs" and I was hit with this visceral memory of when I first heard Kate Bush's Never for Ever ... sweaty in my PE gear under a banyan tree at Macritchie Reservoir after a cross country run feeling the $2.50 in my pocket eager to get on the bus and swing by the neighbourhood pirated casette store to purchase my copy getting it home and creeping into my brother's room to use his casette player the only other one in the house apart from the main stereo which would have been too exposed for this bewailing witchery ...

Well haters will refer to this as indie porn! But we don’t miss em when they’re gawn!! Ha! And admittedly I do harbour resistance to these sorts of groups … you know the ones that fall into the “too cool for school” category, they get the critical web plaundits and the word of mouth buzz and the high frequency download steals .. but if we stripped away all the hype would we still approach their material in the same way … you know a copy of the new Tori amos cd currently sits side by side with a copy of the new Grizzly Bear cd on top of my stereo … so am I forever banished to the prison of bad taste and music depravity if I said that I got more plays out of Tori than some “beardy psychofolktronic throw in a little Tropicana” release that has been elevated to almost messianic proportions??

(Animal collective … anyone?)

Thankfully, I didn’t have to play this over and over again forcing myself to like it for the sake of liking it, Microcastles clicked with me from the word go and Live as it with some albums (Bjork’s Vespertine comes to mind) … it just made the experience so much more …

So if you’re in Melbourne, they’re playing again tomorrow … just go. (oh and skip the support – woeful!! L7/Throwing Muses hybrid wannabees!!)

Oh and why is this post entitled the man that rhythm forgot ... well its a tribute to our moustachioed "friend" with the tryhard floppy hair and op shop chequered sports jacket and the righteous! indie dance moves ... lose the mo and embrace the ho' I say!!!