After a long evening of bands with varying degrees of electronically influenced beats, the band I had was most eagerly awaiting took the stage (albeit already behind schedule for the evening). Manzur Iqbal and Peter Carrol (the duo that is Futurecop!) took the stage in darkness, wearing matching glowing heart necklaces and a cowboy hat and feather headdress, respectively.
Wasting no time after setup, they promptly began to mix some of the most ridiculously happy and infectious sounds, inducing the remaining crowd to fall into a blend of pop and raver-esque dance motions. Using primarily laptops, tables and small keyboards, Iqbal and Carrol seamlessly blended their sound and played complimentary rolls nicely.
Iqbal was barely lit, obscured by his long hair and cowboy hat, and looked serious while bent over his keyboard. Carrol, on the other hand, seemed to be more energetic, clapping along with the crowd and frequently looking up with a small grin on his face. Though I was sadly not familiar with the names of their tracks (which tend to be largely instrumental with some poppy vocal samples) I did manage to note down their cover of "Man in the Mirror"--- a refreshing inclusion of Michael Jackson without using "Billie Jean" or "Beat It."
The overall effect of Futurecop! is something akin to taking all the happy, synthy, nostalgic music one might associate with films of the 80's and turning it into a single bubbly and catchy-as-hell dance mix. Unfortunately, the set ended all too soon when 2 o'clock struck and the house abruptly and unceremoniously brought Futurecop!'s dance party to and end, brought up the stupid house music and kicked us all out of the bar.
Though we all booed and Carrol held his hands up in exasperation, Beauty Bar did't change its mind. Too bad, because the music could have fueled those of us left for hours more. I was especially annoyed when I heard the sound of other bands emanating from the windows of nearby clubs as I exited and wondered why exactly Beauty Bar might think they were so special. This abrubt end, combined with my earlier interaction with an extremely haughty bartender (heaven forbid I bother to ask her for water at 1:50am after last call, a long night of dancing or that she actually hand me the glass instead of placing it on the counter and walking away) completely turned me off to Beauty Bar and very well could have spoiled my night.
Fortunately, the strength of Futurecop!'s infectious electro 80's pop left enough of a lingering glow to keep me upbeat on the walk home. My only lasting regret? Too bad the boys live as far away as England!
