As Max Tundra began his set Friday night at the Bowery Ballroom, I couldn’t help but think it sounded cluttered and frantic, like he had too many ideas for a single song. But as the set progressed I found myself strangely intrigued by his inventiveness. His incorporation of synths with dissonantly catchy beats kept me guessing and thinking long after he finished, like trying to piece together a game of Tetris.
Throughout his performance, Tundra continuously unleashed his unique sound on the crowd. He masterfully maneuvered between three synth ports, hitting a beat on one and then on another. The next second he’d pick up one of his archaic MIDI toys such as a voice changer or the old standby, a guitar, while still having enough time to move away from his instrumental cubical to bust out sporadic dance moves across the stage.
The stage set up was simple, with a few lights bathing his synths. Though a select few danced along with him, the crowd mainly mingled during the set, chatting and sipping their drinks. Unfazed, Tundra displayed enough energy to make up for the crowd, and then some, dancing frantically along the entire length of the stage. Though his style couldn’t have been any more different than the headliners, his intriguing rhythm changes and undeniably striking beats combined with his Timberlake-esque voice made for a perfect start to the evening.
Next up were Kelly Crisp and Ivan Howard, better known as The Rosebuds, accompanied by Giorgio Angelini and Matt McCaughan. The wall behind them was lit up with purple Christmas lights haphazardly strung like a disheveled holiday party. Their poignant flowing vocals serenaded the crowd over open sky guitars and churning bass lines.
Originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, The Rosebuds are on tour in promotion of their latest release Life Like, which returns to a more organic sound after the synth heavy dance pop feel of their previous album, Night of Furies. Life Like reportedly evolved during what was meant to be some self-imposed downtime that instead found the duo doing what they do best, writing more songs. As they quickly accumulated enough tracks for another album, they had once again managed to reinvent themselves, dodging labels and transcending genres.
Throughout the night Kelly energetically banged her tambourine to the slow drumbeats as the bell sleeves of her white peasant dress swayed to the rhythm. She moved back and forth from tambourine to keyboard, washing dreamy notes over Ivan’s reverbed guitar. The band looked reminiscent of a 60’s folk group and their sound echoed that visual tone in its whimsy, while incorporating elements of a bluesy jam band with a hint of the vaguely spiritual. The wife and husband duo shared vocal duties throughout the set, intoning dark lyrics over breezily sinister instrumental passages.
My heart was stolen when Ivan took a short break to introduce a haunting song entitled “Nice Fox.” The song is the harowing story of how Ivan could not save a dying fox he found under a collapsed barn. Its words, however, walk a tightrope between the literal and metaphorical, and in the process capture some existential truth about the inexplicable transience of life. As the crowd sang along with Kelly during the moody refrain, “It don’t mean nothing at all,” it joined in Ivan’s sense of remorse and resignation.
With the background lights frenetically flashing, to mimic the energy in the room, the band continued to play for a long encore at the urging of the crowd. As they had all night, the crowd danced and swayed to the enigmatic beat, as the band enticed us to sing along. The efforts to keep the crowd involved were consistent and the crowd was more than willing to oblige. Though far from home, the Rosebuds clearly hold a strong following in New York. Near the end of the show I found myself near a man who danced like it was the last chance he would get. He took up the whole dance floor as he wildly gyrated about. The music oozed energy, holding a steady beat at times with only a slow breezy bass line and a trickle of notes from Kelly’s keyboard. Despite the freezing temperatures outside, the Rosebuds’ folk pop beats heated up the venue with ease. I’m sure they could have melted the snow that awaited us.
