Pitchfork

Photos by Ahmed Klink; Above: Deerhoof

Marc Hogan's coverage: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Amy Phillips' coverage: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Jessica Suarez's coverage: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Flying [The Fillmore; 8 p.m.]


Brooklyn's Flying (who are also opening for Deerhoof on tour) are three artist kids who make a lot of things: their own videos, their own costumes for their videos, their own artwork, and their own off-center pop songs. Lately they've incorporated other artists into their video and artwork making, but onstage they're still something of a small island, tiny voices singing fractured lullabies. Drummer/singer Sara Magenheimer paused near the end of Flying's set to make a confession. "I'm really blown away being here," she said, "I used to be really afraid of being on stage." The 200 or so early birds at the Fillmore applauded loudly-- they seemed to be the type that accepted flaws and fragility as positives. You know, Deerhoof fans. Deerhoof's Greg Saunier joined them for "Minors", turning an already-joyful song into a frantic, exultant jam. You know, like Deerhoof.





Experimental Dental School [The Fillmore; 9 p.m.]


Experimental Dental School's Shoko Horikawa and Jesse Hall live in Portland, Ore., where artist communities are probably way more common (i.e., your mailman is totally down to direct your music video). Horikawa is a muscular drummer who also handles the pair's sampler triggers. She accidentally deleted one while playing, something she laughed off. Like tourmates Deerhoof, their vocal melodies sometimes match their guitar lines note for note, and they include longer instrumental passages of noise into their tracks. They're also too sweet to be in a band. "That's the first New Yorker to high five me today," said Hall of an audience member. "Is it possible that New Yorkers are getting a bit nicer?" "Fuck you!" someone yelled back. They lost a little momentum on their slower tracks, but their others were bubbly and plump, their silent breaks full of expectant tension, just like Deerhoof.





Deerhoof [The Fillmore; 10 p.m.]


Their four members, all close to the stage, formed a tableau of fast jerks and bounces. There have been many mentions of bassist Satomi Matsuzaki's dance moves, but I'm fascinated by her anti-dance moves as well. She stands completely still while she sings, staring down the audience. Other times her moves aren't so much dance moves, as they are precise poses. She and guitarist Ed Rodriguez approximated Angus Young's one-foot hop; at one point they ran at each other and jumped, which delighted audience members. On the other side of the stage, Saunier impressed his own pool of air drummers, who tried to mime his moves. Deerhoof have a new record out, but they're got such a large catalog of playable-live selections that they can dig deeper and never lose their audience. Sure there were songs from Offend Maggie, but they also played favorites like Runners Four's "Twin Killers". Toward the end, "The Great Car Tomb", from 1999's Holdypaws, reminded me of when I thought anyone could play like Deerhoof. And then "Fresh Born", from Offend Maggie, reminded me why no one can play like Deerhoof.