Eats Tapes (The Element Lounge, 17 May 2005)

I've never heard of Eats Tapes. When my friend Jen told me to come see them, she promised me lots of dancing. How can I pass up a show with lots of dancing? So, I didn't and went.

The Element is this lounge in the 'Loin, on Geary between Van Ness and Polk. I've never been there myself, and had to consult Verizon 411 to figure out the street address. Little did I know that I was standing in front of the lounge when the operator told me the address. So, I go in there and it's pretty good lounge. Good space, with this sunken seating area in the rear, and huge bathrooms. The mix drinks were good too. My Grey Goose and Cran was smooth as silk, although they charged a whopping $8 for one. Ouch! I should have stuck with the $2 PBR special but that's just like drinking piss.

The crowd was a diverse mix of hip-hop breakers, local scenesters, hipsters and art students. There's even one misguided Asian tourist in there who probably just stopped by to see what was up with all the good sounds from the inside. The breakers in there were doing some crazy moves. They seemed like contortionists from the circus rather than "normal" individuals. There's one guy with only one leg and he was the best of the lot.

Eats Tapes came on at around 11pm. They are a boy and girl duo. Their gear (and there was a lot of it) were situated in this sunken table and they kneeled on foam cushions throughout the night whilst they were twiddling with their gizmos. They are all electronic, no vocals, and their sound is akin to Chemical Brothers (sans the "block rockin' beats"), Daft Punk (without the repetitiveness), and Boards of Canada (although less boring).

One thing though is that they were good and dancey. My friend Jen was all over the place dancing to these guys, as well as many others in the small but spacious confines. Not wanting to feel left out, I danced too and the beats were perfect. Not one moment was spent not nodding my head or moving my feet with the beat. They played for a good 30 or so minutes, and provided one encore that was just way too fast for me to dance to. If it isn't 3/4 or 4/8, I can't do it. I'm just not that coordinated enough.

A good night. Not bad for a Tuesday. Definitely check these guys out when you can.

Beer Rating: 2.5 Beers