8/17/2006, the proletariat, houston, tx.

final fantasy (featuring owen from the arcade fire)
bob wiseman
the curtains (featuring chris from deerhoof and nedelle)

i arrived at the proletariat early, and since this was already scheduled as an early show (doors at 6pm, show at 7pm), that means i was there by 6:30pm. it was very strange, going to a show at the dank red and black cave we houstonians call the proletariat during daylight hours. the happy hour regulars raised an eyebrow at the kids as we filed through the doors in tiny groups, then continued chugging back the milkwaukee’s beast and lone star. by the time the show began, just a bit after 7, there were still more happy hour regulars than there were show attendees. the curtains shyly took the stage and, after someone in the back yelled out, “yeah, rock this shit!”, or something equally inane, the band laughed and started to play.

chris cohen joined deerhoof as a second guitarist right before the release of their 2003 release “apple o”. his signature guitar sound, so distinctly deerhoofian (it’s a word, ok), was definitely on display with the curtains as well. he took the stage, doing lead vocals and playing guitar, with a new 4 pc. line-up featuring nedelle (gtr/vox), annie lewandowski (kbds/vox) and corey fogel (drums).

loose, clumsy, and unsure of themselves, the band seemed a bit unpracticed. flubbed lyrics and false starts peppered the short set, and while nedelle’s (who is well known in her own right as a singer-songwriter) voice was nice and strong, she was mainly doing harmonies, and cohen’s uncertain voice shakily delivered the lead vocals. in spite of these things, however, the set was still enjoyable. the group took their own mistakes with a grain of salt, exchanging sheepish smiles and laughing at each other. comfortable in their clumsiness, the band delivered a handful of songs with quick-changing tempos, pretty harmonies, odd lyrics and innovative guitar parts. cohen definitely seemed most comfortable making awesome sounds on his guitar, and smiled with joy when he stepped away from the mic and pounded on his strings. mostly forgettable, but with moments of pure gold, i didn’t feel in the least that i had wasted my time getting there early. my companion made a good point, however, when he said, “no one would even be here or care about this if he wasn’t The Deerhoof Guy.” i’m inclined to agree.

after a short break, bob wiseman, a canadian songwriter and film maker, took the stage. i’m not ashamed to admit that, when i saw the line-up, my first thought was “who the hell is bob wiseman!?” armed with a guitar, laptop, slide projector and accordion (yes, an accordian), wiseman, barefoot* and easy-going, began a set of odd little songs accompanied by sweet accordian riffs (they exist, i heard them!), witty lyrics and pretty guitar. behind him he projected some of his own short films onto a crappy old sheet, the highlights of which were a depressing sock puppet show and clips of humans attempting to make weird musical sounds with their voices.

it would be easy to write him off as a novelty act rocking an accordian, but there was a depth to parts of his performance that is undeniable. surely the first time (in houston, anyway) that a room full of indie kids focused their attention on a barefoot* accordian player (that homeless guy on the corner of montrose and westheimer didn’t count) for any length of time. everyone was smiling when he left the stage.

after an unusually short break in between sets (what happened to making us all wait painfully for the headliner? who cares!), final fantasy, consisting of just owen pallet (well known for his work with the arcade fire as a member and string arranger) took the stage. i was curious to see how he would pull off the complex string arrangements all by himself, and i had been waiting anxiously for his set. i was a fan of both his albums, “has a good home” (2005, blocks) and the awkwardly/awesomely titled “he poos clouds” [i.e. shit that doesn't stink...i had to look that up, i'm not that perceptive] (blocks/tomlab, 2006), and this was pretty much the moment i was waiting for all night. i was stoked.

the room was now markedly more full, and the kids crowded around the tiny stage, as kids do, and everyone (except the now obnoxiously intoxicated happy hour dudes) quieted to a hush. pallet jumped right into the set after a polite mumble, and he commanded our undivided attention for the entire performance, graciously playing for nearly an hour and a half.

loop pedals. so that’s how he does it! i was transfixed as he glided seamlessly through his complex arrangements on the keyboard and violin, building his songs layer by layer with the loop pedals. his delicate vocals and sweet and salty lyrics aided an already amazing feat of loop on top of loop sound. the marriage of frank, sometimes downright gloomy, modern lyrics and classical (but still innovative) instrumental accompaniment is what sets final fantasy apart from the usual indie/pop acts. no one sounds like this. no one.

finishing off the set with a 5 song encore (we begged, he delivered), including a hilarious cover of mariah carey’s “fantasy” (unbelievable), he ended the night with a final song in which he managed to smoke a cigarette and play violin simultaneously. we’ve all seen the guitar-n-cig trick a million times, but i have definitely never seen it with a violin. impressive.

i left the show happy. i was unable to speak with any of the band members, unfortunately, but after final fantasy left the stage i realized i didn’t much want to talk to him. i preferred to remember him onstage, the tiny barefoot* human with the strange voice and violin, creating perfect moment after perfect moment.

* barefootedness seemed to be a theme. maybe it’s a canadian thing.

addendum: i apologize if my refusal to use capital letters irks you. i’ll work on it.
addendum 2: want to see terrible photographs of this show, taken on a cheap digital camera by an unskilled college kid with the beginnings of a good buzz going? copy and paste this addy into your browser: http://xiuxiuvinyl.livejournal.com/42446.html#cutid1

you’ll probably be sorry, and question my value as a human. i do that everyday, so it’s nothing new. enjoy!

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