Oh, existential angst! How omnipresent you seem to be!
What, exactly, is a live show? How much of the performance can be pre-recorded? If one sings over three or four vocal tracks and samples, is it still really a live performance, or is it something closer to karaoke? Or were those vocoder tricks? Does it matter? What if the performer is also dancing, jumping, playing the occasional synth, and inviting people up on stage to groove? That certainly seems like a performance.
Such was the treat of the evening.
On Monday night, Great Scott was a club with bad lighting. Before opening act, Hey Willpower, finally mounted up, an excellent mix of dance music blared out of the speakers on stage. And that tiny little stage? Empty, but for three macs, some cable and various mixing equipment. What about the little orchestra area, where people usually stand, hips cocked, nodding in a practiced, vacant-yet-engagéd fashion? Dance floor. Seriously? And a well-sprung one at that.
By 10:30, around the time that I was deciding whether to just call it a night, Hey, Willpower came onstage. Front man Will, in a tight white oxford, black Members-Only jacket, laceless white Keds and a silver sequined bow tie, is an incredibly entertaining fella. He moves confidently, fluidly, and, honestly, pretty hotly. He broadcasts his enjoyment and pleasure in performance, and, with electronicist Tomo, puts out some excellent dance music. And though the dance party on the floor died down for his performance somewhat (and yes, the hip-cocking commenced), Will invited the audience to dance on stage with him, to much rapid acceptance.
He told us that he was going to rock our asses. Believe it.
Up next: Men, essentially a hermaphroditic, four-handed DJ. Hunched over, nodding rhythmically, they crisscross hands on faders and dials and macintosh computers, handing a pair of headphones back and forth. So the dance party recommenced as Men mixed favorites (Milkshake! Baby Got Back! Etc!), and we got very, very kinetic photographs of the crowd. Not so much from Men.
There's something supremely disconcerting about performers who are able to stand up from their instruments, chat to each other, and not have it affect the goings-on at all. That said, if it's dance music you're looking for, get your ass to New York and find whatever venue Men's playing.
