“Hey, Ze, you look upset. Everything all right…?”
StupidcrowdsfuckingdouchebagsTHOSELITTLE
“Calm down, Ze. No reason to get angry…”
WHYCAN’TTHEY
“Calm down. Need I remind you why you are not in Chicago anymore, Ze? You’re running out of places to run to.”
… Okay, fine.
“Now what’s making you upset, Ze?”
Well, I went to the Bottom of the Hill tonight to see Fuck Buttons. A sold-out show, no less.
“Well, that could make you upset, what with your type hating sell-outs… ”
How is that even funny?
“Okay. Start from the beginning. Who opened?”
Chen Santa Maria. Some experimental outfit this side of Jandek from Oakland. Not appropriate for the night, I’ll admit, seems like a call-in. They were more suited for something like an art gallery, or a place where you can sit down and listen to them while you wax philosophical over some postmodern theory or something while drinking Starbucks.
“An art gallery? What gives you that impression?”
They were simply experimenting with layers, filling the room with various feedback effects without a lot of structure. Good art, but not quality music. They seemed to fall into some groove about 20 minutes in, but then they stopped their set right afterward. Hardly a good start.
“But nothing to get that upset about. Anyone else support Fuck Buttons?”
Growing, a group from New York that holds some resemblance to Octopus Project (two male guitars one female keyboard), but with less synths and more loops. That's not a bad thing. They fit as a supporting act for Fuck Buttons. Their structure was solid, actually kept some groove going. It was easy to get lost at times though.
“How so?”
Some of the vocal loops were hard to hear, and it was difficult to tell the source of some of the layering. Less the band’s fault, though. They have yet to reach that point where they can effectively recreate the recorded sound live without too many constraints. Give them some time, maybe a headline tour, and they’ll come off quite better.
“Okay. Still doesn’t get to the heart of your concern. Let’s talk about Fuck Buttons.”
Fuck Buttons put on a solid show. They were able to meld their two albums well. They started off with Tarot Sport opener (and single) “Surf Solar,” following up with Street Horrrsing closer “Colours Move.” Very little momentum was lost in the transition. The use of a single drum was beautifully rendered. They focused primarily on the new album, though it can be said that they still don’t have a large enough song list to work with yet. Transitions between songs were incredibly maintained, with only a few drops in momentum. “Flight of the Feathered Serpent” and “Olympians” stood out in particular, as did Street Horrrsing single “Bright Tomorrow.” A beautiful set in the right circumstances.
“'Right circumstances?' So what made the set bad?”
The crowd. They were just awful. They weren’t reacting negatively to the music; they weren’t reacting, PERIOD. You had to feel bad for the duo. They were putting their hearts into it, really trying to build something visceral yet empathic. And all the crowd did for the most part was bob their heads around a little, if that.
“So they didn’t dance?”
No. Not really. I think the only time I really saw the crowd get into it was at the breakout point in “Bright Tomorrow,” and even then it was at most 10 percent of the capacity crowd. A repeat was attempted with “Feathered Serpent,” but it fizzled. What’s worse is that, listening to Fuck Buttons, they really have a danceable rhythm to their songs that makes their impact even more profound. Yet watching the duo, and even watching those in the crowd who danced (including myself), the setting felt like hundreds of hipsters watching monkeys dance. It was depressing, and quite disgusting in a way.
“Why didn’t the hipsters dance, Ze?”
I have no idea. None.
