Photo courtesy of the artist.
It’s a rare instance when music criticism behemoth Pitchfork and deeply underground cassette loving fanatics see eye-to-eye. Yet, roughly a year after releasing a tape that most people probably missed, Northampton, Mass.’s Speedy Ortiz got a Best New Music nod for their debut album Major Arcana. Their first opener Two Inch Astronaut pointed out that nobody in the audience had been present during Speedy Ortiz’s previous outing in the District, but the strength of this LP was enough to draw a hefty dedicated crowd to Comet Ping Pong on a Sunday night.
Comet Ping Pong is often a fitting location for bands like Speedy Ortiz. The warehouse-esque vibe of the back room is a good fit for gritty rock bands and can be more conducive to random acts of wildness. Those acts came courtesy of guitarist Matthew Robidoux. Singer/guitarist Sadie Dupuis established early on that Sunday was Robidoux’s birthday and he celebrated accordingly. After a set filled with intense lunging and headbanging, he lifted a cymbal stand and a mic stand while playing the guitar during penultimate song “Silver Spring” and then ended in grand fashion during closer “MKVI.” Basically, he knocked over all the water sitting on the speaker, climbed onto an audience-goer’s shoulders, rode around the middle of the crowd and then ended with a dog pile with bassist Darl Ferm and Dupuis.
Indeed, the entire band provided a spark of energy that was unusually high for a band so late into their tour. How the quartet managed to squeeze melodies from the loud noises in which they indulged was truly amazing. However, this turned out to be something of a problem for the sound technician at Comet as Dupuis’ vocals were often buried. Except in cases when all other instruments dropped out, such as in the middle of Song of the Day, “Plough,” her voice was drowned out primarily by Ferm’s bass, at least for those standing close to the front. She’s still an engaging lead — the way she made unusual sounds come from her guitar was interesting to watch, especially as she maneuvered her fingers to make singular notes bend. Additionally, Dupuis’ dry wit between songs was reminiscent of Stephen Malkmus to whom she is often compared. (example: “Amanda Bynes is still in the hospital. That sucks for me.”) However, it was a little disappointing that on an occasion where a garage rock singer had something extraordinary to say, that she often could not be heard.
