Ganglians, regarded as somewhat lo-fi pioneers among the current trend, if that's possible, proved the professionals of the night, if not in their stage persona, then at least in their more mature sound that drew on influences beyond the pop merry-go-round, like early '70s album rock and r&b, freeing them from the distortion-heavy lifelines others have used.
I hesitate to use such an obvious metaphor, but there was a moment last night when the hot, drunk, good-naturedly violent crowd that had swelled up around Nathan Williams just seemed to break and fall away backward, toward me, and it was awe-inspiring and sort of scary, like watching a killer wave at La Jolla in Williams' native San Diego crash down over you. Like even though his vocals were virtually inaudible throughout, his blog-happy lo-fi surf pop had gotten to the point where it had taken on a persona that's beyond even Williams' control, and one that the crowd embraced with a breathless, panting familiarity. His hit "So Bored" was the first song he played, and barely recognizable.
"Chill the fuck out!" he had screamed at everybody earlier, before having to have Todd Patrick lumber paternally onto the stage to scold the crowd, particularly the three drunk chicks who'd scrambled onstage and somehow unplugged Williams' mic in the process.
"If someone falls down, pick 'em up," he exorted. "Otherwise, people die."
Nobody died that I know of, although, as evidenced above, it was viciously difficult to get a decent photo of Williams when it was all I could do to keep my camera from being knocked out my hands and shattering under someone's combat boots.
Wipe out.
Mp3 - Wavves - Mickey Mouse (courtesy The Fader)
Updated: If you like your indie rock news sleazy, check out PopJew's account of Jared from The Black Lips beating up on Williams at Daddy's afterparty.
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