It was an eclectic group of East Coast weirdos who emerged last Friday to rock Brooklyn's Bell House. First on the bill was Pattern Is Movement, a beefy, bearded duo from Philly recently cited as one of the hottest bear bands of 2008 (note to bTalk: Dan Deacon in ’09?). As Chris Ward drums with more energy than a skinny guy on meth, Andrew Thiboldeaux takes care of everything else, from keyboards to bass to vocals. And his singing voice is really something -- plaintive, operatic, and sometimes hilariously melodramatic -- recalling Antony Hegarty. The thoroughly enjoyable set ended with an astonishingly on-point cover of D'Angelo's "Untitled (How Does It Feel)."
Next up was the home team, Brooklyn's own These Are Powers, a band I had been hearing about for a while and was excited to check out. Upon releasing their 2007 debut, Terrific Seasons, the trio declared themselves a "ghost-punk" band, and that description actually sounds about right. Performing amidst multi-colored strips of fabric hanging from mic stands and amps, These Are Powers unleashed a storm-like combination of hard-hitting, guitar-and-synth attacks and quiet, ambient moments that almost made me forget I was watching a band perform. By far the most riveting person onstage was vocalist Anna Barie, whose ululations are somewhat reminiscent of Gang Gang Dance's Liz Bougatsos.
While the opening bands brought moments of excitement and repose in equal measure, the headliner left no room for peaceful contemplation. Although I've been following Ponytail for about two years now and have seen them at least five times, the Bell House gig was the first time I saw them in a proper club rather than on the floor of a warehouse or on a makeshift, outdoor stage on the banks of the Gowanus Canal. And I was a bit nervous. Could all that frenetic energy survive in a club setting? Taking the stage in a Baltimore Ravens jersey, with streaks of blacking under her eyes, manic munchkin Molly Siegel answered my question tout de suite: Yes, yes it could. And boy did it.
Ponytail blew through song after song with a genuine enthusiasm, seemingly grateful that the audience's exuberance matched their own. Guitarist Dustin Wong joined Siegel on the mic more frequently than I've seen before, giving her high-pitched yelps and squeaks added dimension. Meanwhile, in the audience, the entire front half of the room transformed into an enormous mosh pit, with ladies and gents bouncing and sweating in harmony (well, except for the lady who was wearing stilettos in the pit and stomping on people's feet. Note to this girl: flat shoes next time, please). At the end of the night, Ponytail did something else I'd never seem them do before: play an encore. And though I was a bit disappointed to see them bow to this tired rock convention, I can't say I minded hearing more.
[Photo: Sean Ruch]