San Francisco Bathhouse
August 9 | Reviewed by Brannavan Gnanalingam

SOMETIMES I wonder when I survey the frequently paltry crowds at indie gigs, whether this gig will be Wellington’s equivalent of the Sex Pistols’ Manchester Lesser Free Trade Hall gig back in ’76, where everyone who went, went on to form a killer band. Although, it’d be fair to say last night’s crowd was basically Wellington’s bands, and a few other startled onlookers. Last night was lunacy. Inspired and brilliant, but sheer lunacy. If the audience weren’t in a band themselves, after last night they probably would consider getting a computer and dancing around on stage.

The night was opened by Disasteradio. I’ve seen Disasteradio countless times, and every-time he seems to play the same set. Thankfully this time he seemed to employ a slightly different sound, some new tunes and used a bit more variety than he had done in the past. Although, he did play his now over-familiar ‘12:51’ mash-up, but that just might be me, as this seemed to surprise and excited all the new listeners. I’m still hoping for a little bit more variety on top of what he performed last night, mainly because you can tell he’s got some talent. Just mess with our minds a little bit more.

Next up was Panther, a mate of YACHT from Portland, Oregon (one of the hottest indie scenes in the US at the moment). I don’t quite know how to describe him. A sexy Napoleon Dynamite? A soul singer trapped within freak-out beats? Prince meets the Animal Collective? I don’t really know, but his live-show was something else. His chaotic dancing initially confused the audience (especially given the somewhat respectable show by Disasteradio beforehand), but quickly won everyone over with his antics. And his music, which was indescribably fascinating.

YACHT played after starting his set with a quasi-press conference. He asked us if we had any questions, and dealt with the ensuing hecklers. It was endearing, and I reckon he should do it more often (he confessed that this wasn’t a usual start to his sets). His set had a bit more structure than Panther’s (it seemed) and he also seemed to have choreographed his dance moves a little more than Panther. His music was also genre-bending and especially the first few songs were wonderful. Like Panther it seemed like the Animal Collective’s Sung Tongs had an influence on the sound, with some vocal bending, and careful layering. It also translated wonderfully well live (a particular highlight was ‘So Post ‘Em All’), as the small crowd partied into the night. There were also wonderful little moments such as when he got the whole crowd (albeit, the thirty people there) to crouch down with him so he could spring up, or the couple who decided to have a dance on stage. He also got his girlfriend up to perform some of his new songs with him. YACHT seemed genuinely surprised to be asked back for an encore, and seemed to really savour the small crowd’s enjoyment. This was a ridiculously enjoyable gig – just outrageously good fun – that had the crowd having the time of their lives.