Blonde Redhead @ the 9:30 Club
Remember that episode of The Simpsons where Barney is dating a Japanese art student? And they show up at Moe’s and she orders "a single plum, floating in perfume, served in a man’s hat"? We can kind of imagine Blonde Redhead frontwoman (and former art student) Kazu Makino ordering that same thing. And Makino’s otherworldliness is so captivating that, like Moe, we probably wouldn’t bat an eye.
Decked out in a menacingly short shirt-dress, Makino took "shoegaze" to the extreme, rarely revealing the face behind her curtain of shaggy bangs. Along with her husband, Simone Pace, on drums, and his twin brother, Amedeo, on bass/guitar, she played the bulk of the trio’s latest album, 23, plus a few older songs. These included "I Don’t Want U," from their 1995 debut, and "In Particular," a haunting song from 2000’s Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons, the disc that established the band’s credibility and set them apart from New York’s myriad pretentious no-wave acts.
While past albums might have seemed a bit remote to the average indie-rock fan, 23 is BR’s poppiest project to date, with songs that are comparatively taut, structured, and, well, song-like. Last night’s show had a nice rhythm to it, with quiet, introspective numbers spaced in between spurts of thumping operatics and guitar-heroics. BR’s sound is a unique mix of gritty (drones and synths) and gauzy (Makino’s airy vocals). "Lush" is a word often used to describe the band’s sound, and it is certainly apt. Their music is made for the unpredictabilities of the stage, and manages to sound even more sumptuous and complex live than it does on their albums. It is also undeniably sexy music, as evidenced by the couple in the front row making out for the duration of the show.
The downside of such heady music is that, after a while, it begins to blend together. Though they started off strong, after about 40 minutes, BR began to lose momentum. Much like going to the opera, a BR show is beautiful but not particularly fun. Hence the people leaning on the railing of 9:30’s balcony with their heads propped in their hands for the last couple songs, even though it wasn’t even midnight yet.
So while it’s safe to say Blonde Redhead didn’t win over any new fans last night, the diehards in the first few rows went home happy. Even on their most accessible release to date, Blonde Redhead still have a brand of whimsy that’s as specialized as a plum floating in perfume served in a man’s hat. A niche market, sure. But if that’s your drink of choice, then nothing compares.
One band that definitely earned some new fans last night was opener Fields. An audience member observed that, while she wasn’t blown away by Fields musicianship, she was hooked by their energy and likeable stage presence, and will probably end up buying the album, which drops tomorrow.
Photo of Blonde Redhead by Sebastian Mlynarski, from the band's MySpace page.