The man with the coolest name in contemporary rock music drew the largest crowd we’ve ever seen at the Rock and Roll Hotel last night. Keep in mind that it was a Wednesday. John Vanderslice also completely demolished the “fourth wall” between the audience and the stage, handing out Mrs. Field’s cookies, inviting a gaggle of fans to the stage for a sing-along of “me and my 424,” and descending from the stage to play his final song surrounded by the audience, almost a cappella and with the lights turned low, spooky-séance-style. Did we mention that he corralled opener St. Vincent and the R’n’R’s sound guy, Dan, up to the stage for a few numbers? Witnessing this collaborative approach confirmed what DCist Kyle learned last year: John Vanderslice really is the nicest guy in indie rock.
The 39-year-old musician looks like a cross between Larry Birkhead and ET. So what planet did this guy come from? Gainesville, FL, to be exact. But we’re proud to say he spent his teenage years in Potomac, MD. Today, Vanderslice owns a San Francisco studio that is exclusively analog – one of the few of it’s kind around – and eschews digital recording on his own albums as well. His songs are simple, moog-heavy melodies punctuated by electronic blips and feedback.
JV played a bunch of songs from his most recent album, 2005’s Pixel Revolt, as well as some older stuff. Attendees were also treated to some material from his next album, to be released July 24. He opened with a great new song, tentatively titled “Charles Rennie Makintosh Numbered Lithograph.” Another, “White Dove,” was repetitive and went on for about one minute too long. But that was made up for by the fact that drummer Dave Douglas was playing one-handed, while working the synthesizer with the other. For those close enough to the stage, it was fun to watch.
If Vanderslice’s music feels a bit pneumatic, his literal lyrics anchor the atmospherics. Quirky references to dental mirrors and Dance Dance Revolution have given Vanderslice a cult following. At last night’s show, there were at least a few members of the mostly-male audience that sang along to every song. Some sample lyrics from last night: “I lost your bunny/I let him out of the cage/He was eating spring mix on the carpet/He jumped through a window into the haze” (“Angela”), and “Wear your headphones/And I’ll whisper you the code/Of a helper application/That you can download” (“Time Travel is Lonely”). It’s peculiarities like this that makes one think that what Wes Anderson is to Hollywood, John Vanderslice is to indie rock.
Photo from John Vanderslice’s MySpace page
