The industrial, cage-like environs of new-ish Bowery Presents venue Terminal 5 were throbbing with reverb on Saturday night, as The Raveonettes and Blonde Redhead treated Gotham to an ethereal evening of ambient noise.
Danish pop duo The Raveonettes were up first, with their brand of three-chord rockers in haunting minor keys overlaid with electric, driving beats and dark lyrics. Led by towering blonde bombshell Sharin Foo, the band’s name is a tad misleading given the current neu-rave phenomenon, and is in fact an amalgam of The Ronettes, and Buddy Holly’s “Rave On.”
Foo and guitarist/vocalist Sune Rose Wagner were joined by a third party, in the form of an androgynous stand-up drummer - who bore an alarming resemblance to Dani from “A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila” - parked behind a tom-tom and a snare. Most of their tunes don’t stretch past the 3-minute mark, and the band played a punk-length, half-hour opening set showcasing tracks off their upcoming LP Lust Lust Lust, which hits U.S. record store shelves on February 19th. They played with a backing tape -a recurring theme throughout the evening - and closed with sensuous debut single “Aly, Walk With Me.”
Blonde Redhead has been a force in the New York City indie scene since 1993. And during the mid-90s, their Sonic Youth-inspired sound underwent a Radiohead-like transformation, catapulting them into the realm of melodic, distorted guitar riffs replete with tremolo and digital reverb characteristic of the shoegazing movement.
For the past year, the band has been touring in support of their seventh studio album, the critically lauded 23. The three-piece, led by front woman Kazu Makino, along with twin brothers Amedeo and Simone Pace, emerged amidst a cloud of pungent marijuana smoke and, after overcoming some guitar-tuning problems, burst into dreamy 23 cut “Heroine.”
Rocking a getup out of “Alice in Wonderland” Makino was in a world all her own. Whether parked behind a keyboard or jamming on her bass, she was in a constant state of motion, swaying her delicate frame from side-to-side in dizzying, spaced-out fashion. Ms. Makino’s eerie, high-pitched voice perfectly complements the guitar swells on fan favorite “Equus,” as Makino pleads, “Allow me to show you / The way which I adore you!”
“I don’t know who that guy is,” Makino jokingly exclaimed when, all of a sudden, a well-coiffed gentleman sauntered onstage and joined the trio. This was no stranger however, but Paul Banks [pictured], lead singer of Interpol who, to the crowd’s amazement, proceeded to plug-in and play lead guitar on the mesmerizing “23.”
Like The Raveonettes before them, Blonde Redhead employed a backing track throughout the night, layering their sound with added guitar lines and backing vocals. This tactic drew quite a few quizzical looks from the crowd members in my general vicinity, proving to be both diverting and unnecessary (especially given the group’s veteran touring status).
Nuclear annihilation was the last thing on anyone’s mind while indulging in the soothing rhythms of encore-opener “Dr. Strangeluv,” and by the time set closer “Melody” came about, after an hour and a half of melodious ditties, all were floating along the ethereal plane, towards Elysium.
--Marlow Stern
