Three excellent bands converged at Bottom of the Hill last Friday. Each band exemplified the word “fun” in their music and stage presence. The catchy beats and clever lyrics (if there are some) made this a fool proof show from beginning to end. The bands were into it and the crowd even more so.
Tussle opened up with another spectacular set. I believe they started off with “Here it Comes” from their album Kling Klang. It was an appropriate song to start off the evening, with bassist Andy Cabic encouraging the crowd to clap along in the opening beats of the song. And clap along they did. Percussionists Alexis Georgopoulos and Jonathan Holland kept the beats going with their steady drumming and the occasional double cowbell action, while Nathan Burazer added the special effects. Tussle blends so many distinct genres of music (dub, techno, electro, and post-punk, among other sounds) and makes it into one solidly constructed, danceable whole. There were a number of people in the front nodding their heads in complete approval, while others chose to let their feet dictate their movements. Their set was too short, especially since a good majority of people were just starting to get into it.
Numbers, like Tussle, blends many popular genres of music (this time with new wave, punk, garage, and synth-pop) and makes it their own. Although their set was not as entertaining as Tussle’s, Numbers nonetheless played solidly and kept the crowd entertained. Tracks from Number’s most recent release, We’re Animals, seemed to dominate the set list. I believe they opened up with “Beast Life,” with drummer and vocalist Indra Dunis sounding angelic despite all the distortion. Guitarist Dave Broekema added the backing vocals, with his “uh huh uh” noises, while keyboardist Eric Landmark contributed to the song with some more noises. “The Fuck You Garage” was played somewhere in their set, and it oddly sounded like a Tussle song with vocals. Finally, the crowd got more into it when they played their older material, such as “We Need These Things” from their great album Life. “I am the end user,” sings Broekema, once again reminding each and everyone of us that of our capitalists and materialists ways.
Finally, the moment that everyone was waiting for: The Gossip. Their new album, Standing in the Way of Control, is an absolute classic release from this Olympia, Washington based band. Guitarist Nathan, drummer Kathy, and singer Beth took to the stage surrounded by thunderous applause. Again, The Gossip mixes two seemingly opposite genres of music: the Motown sound of Beth’s voice accompanied by the garage punk instrumentation of Nathan and Kathy. It seemed like for every song they played, except the slow ones such as “Coal to Diamonds,” there was a friendly, but entertaining, mosh pit that formed. My friend and I were the only boys in this circular pit, unless you count all the girls who like girls who dress like boys who like girls who immersed themselves in the eye of this hurricane of craziness. Let me tell you, these riot grrrls knew how to mosh compared to some of the wimpy indie boys in other shows. I think the band’s set reached its apex when they played “Standing in the Way of Control.” The catchy guitar, perfect three-four beat plus Beth’s awesome vocals drove the crowd mad! Another catchy song, “Your Mangled Heart” sounded eerily like the guitar chords to the Killers’ “Jenny Was a Friend of Mine.” However, unlike the Killers song, you don’t get to dance to it amongst a pit full of riot grrrls.
Overall, it was a fantastic night of music from three bands that combine different genres of music.
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