A Take Away Show

Shot in Paris, November 2019

Kishi Bashi at Variety Playhouse, Atlanta, November 2, 2016

New Kishi Bashi

Kishi Bashi's new album Sonderlust, may well be his best yet, and for the creator of 151a and Lighght, that's really saying something - the man set the bar high, and then cleared it (nothing but net) with his new record.

Sonderlust

First track off Kishi Bashi's new album, Sonderlust, an album that's apparently a direct result of the personal crisis ensuing from the end of a 13-year marriage.  "Touring and its accompanying lifestyle took a heavy toll on my soul and my family," he explained, and as an outlet, he submerged himself in a new musical direction.

Sonder n. The realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness—an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk. (Source: Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows) 

Kishi Bash at Park Tavern, Atlanta. August 23, 2015

As hard to believe as it is, the Park Tavern in Atlanta's Piedmont Park has actually put together a fine series of free Sunday evening shows.  The challenge to belief is based on the shows being free.  Nothing's ever free here in Atlanta.  In any event, earlier this summer we saw Seattle's Ivan & Alyosha in a free show here, and last night, it was Athens' own Kishi Bashi.   

Andre of Book of Colors opened with a solo set.  Frankly, it was difficult to hear him at times over the noise of the crowd, most of whom were seated at tables eating and drinking and seemingly oblivious to the fact that there was a musician on stage.  But Andre managed to stay serene and focused, and in the audience I saw, in addition to the Jeffrey Bützer, the next musician up, Book Club's Robbie and Brock Scott of Little Tybee.  

Bützer took the stage next with his band, The Bicycle Eaters.  Bützer fills an odd but endearing niche in the Atlanta music scene, and is probably most famous for his annual Christmas show at The Earl where he performs Vince Guaraldi's Charlie Brown Christmas.  The rest of the year, he performs his idiosyncratic music at the usual venues, lately utilizing singer Cassi Costoulas, who sings half the songs in French for some reason, including a lovely reworking of Bützer's Theme For A Tailor.

The crowd was still pretty noisy (honestly, this place is worse than Park for talkative audiences) and there's a YouTube clip somebody posted of last night's show that I refuse to even post here 'cause the audience is so loud and disrespectful. 

The area in front of the stage became more crowded and the audience a little more attentive when Kishi Bashi took the stage.  Mr. Ishibashi has been working on a new album, and while that's in progress, he played a small mini-tour of local towns (Macon, Chattanooga, Birmingham, and last night, Atlanta).  He played the usual songs from his two fine albums, 151a and Lighght, opening with Atticus In the Desert and audience favorite Bright Whites, both from 151a, before covering most of the songs from Lighght, and closing with Mr. Steak, Philosophize In It! Chemicalize In It! and It All Began With A Burst.   

For his encore, he did a solo improvisation for a while, and then closed with Manchester. 

Not to complain, but it was a sloppier set than I've seen them play before, with Kishi Bashi having to stop and start several of his loops over during one song or another.  However, this gave the set a more spontaneous and intimate feel, and I don't think anybody was disappointed.  Especially for a free show.

Next week, Park Tavern presents The Secret Sisters, and then, truly incredibly, they close out their so-called Sunset Series with The Joy Formidable.

Kishi Bashi at Center Stage, Atlanta, December 31, 2014

I've never been big on going out on New Year's Eve - "amateurs' night," I'd call it dismissively, nothing but a bunch of obnoxious drunks and scary drivers.  But when I learned that Kishi Bashi was doing a New Year's Eve show at Center Stage, just a couple miles from my house, how could I resist?  I bought tickets immediately.

Opening was Atlanta's Red Sea, a band I often confuse with Austin's The Eastern Sea, merely because of the marginal similarities of their names, although their music's nothing alike.  In any event, Atlanta's Red Sea opened the show with a lively set of progressive, occasionally math-rockish songs.  I didn't get any pictures, but here's a sample song:

"Happy New Year's, everyone.  I'm gonna play some weird music for you," announced the next act, Roger Sellers, who actually is from Austin.  Although Sellers describes his music as "widely accessible" and a "folk-dance-americana-electric-symphonic fusion, where Philip Glass, Sufjan Stevens, and Joanna Newson all groove to late night ambient house music in George Martin’s living room," to me he sounded somewhere between Animal Collective and Dan Deacon (that's meant as a compliment to you doubters out there).  His set was quite entertaining, and he really sells his songs with theatrical gestures and occasionally coming out from behind his table of electronics to dance for the audience.  A lot of fun, and here's a sample of Sellers:

Kishi Bashi took the stage at around 10:15, or about 75 minutes before the end of the year.  In all, he played an over two-hour set, and here's the set list, snagged from the video projectionist after the show:

It seemed that several of the songs, especially the early ones, were extended versions of the usual performances I've heard earlier this year at the Georgia Theater, Terminal West, and Bumbershoot, and in any event, he wasn't able to fit Ha Ha Ha in before the midnight hour (it was moved to near the end of the set).  He had a bit of trouble getting the boisterous, rowdy, NYE audience quiet for the gentle I Am The Antichrist (which doesn't seem like the title of a gentle song if you haven't heard it) and Bittersweet Genesis, but managed to keep things under control without resorting to Sun Kil Moon hissy fits.  He brought two audience members on stage as winners of what he called his "Facebook Contest." but it was a trick as it was actually a marriage proposal by someone named Alex to someone named Jalysa, which in itself sounds like the title of a Kishi Bashi song (isn't one of the names in The Ting Ting's That's Not My Name "maybe Jalysa?").

Midnight saw the traditional cover of Auld Lang Syne, followed by Kishi Bashi's cover of Live And Let Die, which has become a set staple for the band. As is his custom, Kishi attempted to crowd surf during the song but was dropped, and noted later that it was the first time he's ever been dropped while crowd surfing.  "This next song's called, My Ankle Hurts," he joked. 

Things got decidedly silly after that.  During Mr. Steak, someone came on stage dressed in a steak costume and danced around his titular song.  He stayed on stage for most of the rest of the set, and Kishi often teased him and engaged him in stage banter, although the character remained mute and only pantomimed his answers.  There was even some sort of  Mr. Steak game, but the audience didn't seem to grasp the rules or their part in the action, and it didn't go over all that well.

After that, I had had about enough of Mr. Steak, and Kishi Bashi went through a cover of Ah Ha's Take On Me. followed by his set-closing Bright Whites and, for his encore, It All Began With A Burst. 

(For the unfamiliar, that's not really Kishi Bashi performing in the video - although it's his music - and those hilariously fractured subtitles aren't really his lyrics.)

So, a good way to ring in the year, and the fourth time seeing Kishi Bashi in 2014.  Kishi Bashi was to 2014 what Thao Nguyen was to 2013.  I wonder what Asian-American musician I'll end up stalking in 2015.  Touring much this year Dustin Wong?

It seems that some changes are afoot for Kishi Bashi, and he'll be touring with a string quartet this year. but so far, no dates have been set for anywhere near the American South.

  

Post-Script: As I was writing this post, I was listening to Roger Sellers' album Primitives on Bandcamp.  It's really quite good and I'm very impressed.  You really should check it out sometime. 

Bumbershoot Retrospective Day 2

Damn, these retrospectives are getting labor intensive!  Once again, I'm going to have to let others who've already posted about this year's Bumbershoot do the heavy lifting, and see if I can't post this one more as a compilation or anthology than a purely original post.

MANATEE COMMUNE

According to Kyle Fleck of The Stranger, "The beatific beats 'n' synths of Manatee Commune were easy enough on the hungover noon peeps."  I wasn't hungover, but still enjoyed the ambient sounds of the day's opener at the indoor Pavilion Stage.

HOBOSEXUAL

On the other extreme. Seattle Weekly’s pick for best rock group of 2014, Hobosexual (above) rocked the outdoor Fountain Lawn Stage. Hobosexual is NOT the worst band name ever (that would be Nashville's Diarrhea Planet), and Seattle Weekly said the band "might just be the perfect act to get things going on the festival’s second day, because nothing says early Sunday like loud, irreverent, balls-out rock and fucking roll. Pink bathrobe not included."  Don't worry - I don't get the pink bathrobe reference either, although I did see one person in the audience wearing one, and noted this picture on the band's Facebook page:

GOLDEN GARDENS

Meanwhile, back at the Pavilion Stage, it was the dreamy and the ethereal once again, this time with the band Golden Gardens.  Dave Segal of The Stranger noted, "Led by the creamy, angelic singing of Aubrey Rachel Violet Bramble, Golden Gardens proved themselves to be Seattle's premier goth-gaze-techno outfit at the Pavilion Stage, which couldn't be a more sterile environment for live music. The trio—all dressed in black—seemed to have been beamed in from a European metropolis circa 1989, blurring elements of Durutti Column, Cranes, and '90s German techno from the Tresor label."

SANDRIDER

Seattle Weekly promised that local trio Sandrider would be "full of melodic, heavy riffs and one of this town’s best rhythm sections."  Sandrider, they wrote, will pummel you in the best way possible. Dave Lake of Seattle Weekly reported that "Jon Weisnewski, singer-guitarist of Seattle stoner-rock trio Sandrider, said he grew up coming to Bumbershoot as a teenager and was humbled by playing the festival this year as an adult. The band, which has two records out on local indie Good to Die, doesn’t mess around much with dynamics, but that’s not the point. It focuses its energy instead on sludgy grooves and neck vein-bulging screams. The heavy, steady riffs were a full-frontal assault and as the sun began to move from behind the clouds, the fans closest to the stage gave way to a circle pit."

Kathleen Richards (The Stranger) wrote, "Seattle is a city known for its rock bands, but you wouldn't necessarily know that by this year's Bumbershoot lineup. Nonetheless, Seattle's own Sandrider handled the pressure of being one of the festival's few hard rock acts with pride, pounding out headbanging riffs and throat-bleeding screams with a ferocity that kept a kid in a Thou shirt pumping his fists while other youngsters attempted (but largely failed) to get a mosh pit going."

KISHI BASHI

According to my preview of the festival schedule, Sunday was supposed to be the "slow" day of the weekend, but I don't recall how I had figured that any day that had a set by Kishi Bashi in mid-afternoon would be a "slow" day.  In any event, K Ishibashi took the stage at 3:00 pm, and charmed the Seattle audience with his infectious brand of pop-rock.  Regarding his latest album Lighght, the festival Program noted "right and soaring avant-pop songs are prevalent, as are Eastern-tinged arrangements, gentle ballads, Phillip Glass-inspired improvisations, and more that a few moments that flirt with 70s prog-rock in the tradition of ELO or Yes."

This is more than a bit of a "Where's Waldo?" pic, but most of my head and face are visible in the picture below that Ishibashi took from the stage after the show.  Hint:  I'm about three or four rows back, and I'm wearing an Army-green,  long-sleeved t-shirt.

CRAFT SPELLS

I saw Seattle's Craft Spells at Bumbershoot in 2011, and although I was already familiar with their fine song After the Moment, that was about all that I knew about them.  However, I enjoyed that set, and was looking forward to seeing them again, even if they did play at the side stage in Memorial Stadium, the festival's main stage, to a small crowd.  According to the festival brochure, "Justin Vallesteros is back with the gorgeously ambitious Nausea.  Full of a newfound maturity in both songwriting and recording sophistication, it showcases a bold, beautiful, and lush new sound emphasizing Vallesteros' songwriting abilities."

Seattle Weekly wrote "Craft Spells is back with dreamy pop grooves on their sophomore album, Nausea. The name’s ironic, of course, with its beautiful, melodic sounds and feel-good vibes."

THE DREAM SYNDICATE

I got back from Craft Spells in time to catch the reunion tour of 80s psych-rock legends The Dream Syndicate at the Starbucks Stage.  Dave Segal wrote in The Stranger, "The Dream Syndicate's dual-guitar attack from original member Steve Wynn and new guitarist Jason Victor was as tight, vicious, and loud as Contortions', the Pop Group's or the Velvet Underground's circa I Heard Her Call My Name. They focused on the best cuts from the immortal debut LP, The Days of Wine and Roses, but also threw in a raging cover of Blind Lemon Jefferson's blues standard, See That My Grave Is Kept Clean.  This fiery set was a total Wynn/win scenario."

Saw these old geezers backstage during The Dream Syndicate set:

NEGATIVLAND

I don't even know what to say about the Negativland set or how to describe it.  Seattle Weekly wrote, "For more than 30 years, subversive culture jammers Negativland have charmed your trademarked socks off your copyrighted feet with witty, sample-heavy beats and satirical jams. Its live shows are always weird and memorable; therefore, you will go see them and love them."

Dave Segal wrote in The Starnger, "Negativland's subtlety is too humorous for a festival crowd, and it sent the jackass kids who were yelling 'Drop a beat!' and 'Let's get it!' scattering after 10 minutes. This set was as hallucinogenic as hyperreality, unspooling an eerie, absurd concatenation of officious and oleaginous media pronouncements and a menagerie of left-field electronic sounds that ranged from tranquil to unsettling. Sensory-overloaded culture jamming at its smartest."

Dave Lake wrote in Seattle Weekly, "Negativland were definitely not what the EDM kids were expecting. The experimental San Francisco sound collagists don’t make music as much as sonic mayhem: audio think pieces that are subversive and enlightening, vexing and revelatory. The foundation for most of its work is some kind of monologue, be it news clip, found dialogue, or, in the case of the opening track, an excerpt from a Marc Maron podcast accompanied by squeals, squelches, and sound effects. Dressed in matching grey and black button-up shirts, the band’s three primary members sat behind a long table covered in a tangle of cords, effects boxes, mixers, and more, tweaking knobs like mad scientists, while a laptop-working fourth member controlled the video screen behind them. Negativland are political to the core and even Bumbershoot wasn’t off limits. Between songs came a sponsorship message accompanied by a giant Chipotle logo, a nose-thumbing message to the festival for including corporate food sponsors amongst their vendors.

PICKWICK

According to The Seattle Times' Joseph Sutton-Holcomb, "Pickwick frontman Galen Diston is a lead singer of the very highest caliber. The intensity of his screams, the soulfulness of his falsetto, and even the way his hands gesticulate while singing make him engrossingly sincere. Like Allen Stone with more emotional intelligence and grit, the band, tightly orchestrated with lots of keys and organ high in the mix, backs up the vocals with what can be vaguely summarized as pop rock. However, their musical influences clearly also include '70s soul, and blues. Pickwick is not an easy band to simplify, but they are easy to dance to. Especially toward the end of the group's set where a horn section (tuba, trombone, trumpet, and no fewer than three saxophones)  joined them on stage."

My two cents:  Best Pickwick show ever.

BOOTSY COLLINS

So much for the "slow" day.  Great sets by favorites Kishi Bashi and Pickwick, a mind-blowing spectacle by Negativland, a nice set by Craft Spells, and the reunion of The Dream Syndicate all served to distinguish the day from the ordinary, not to mention the early-day dream-pop and ambient (Manatee Commune, Golden Gardens) and metal (Hobosexual, Sandrider) sets.  My plan at that point of the day was just to go home (Pickwick didn't wrap up until 9:15 pm), but I realized that since I had the rail for Pickwick, all I had to do was just stay right where I was to have a truly once-in-a-lifetime chance to see funk legend Bootsy Collins from the front row.   

Seattle Weekly wrote that  "Bootsy Collins is a bass-playing god from outer space (also from Parliament/Funkadelic) who founded an online 'Funk University' because he basically invented the whole goddamned genre. He is an interstellar gift to Earth." Josh Bis wrote in The Stranger, "More than a decade ago, the EMP put its beloved/ridiculous 'Funk Blast'—a simulated roller coaster that taught the masses (and Rufio from Hook) about how to keep it funky by STAYING ON THE ONE —into hibernation to make way for the Science Fiction Museum (and Hall of Fame). Tonight, a crack in the space time continuum brought some of that spirit and more back to the heart of Seattle Center through the miraculous talents of Bootsy Collins and his amazingly funkadelic crew."

Mike Ramos wrote in The Seattle Times that "The Cincinatti-born bass legend came out with a full band and in full glittery superstar attire, and played one of the most cohesive, completely funked-out sets of the entire festival. Though a ripe 62 years old, Bootsy and company put on a musical clinic, playing Parliament favorites like Give Up the Funk, Mothership Connection, Flashlight, along with covers of funk standards like Yarbrough & Peoples Don’t Stop the Music, and basically every original version of every West Coast rap song ever written — making sure to take time for quick bass solos just to remind everyone of how filthy he actually is. Everybody’s got a little light under the sun.

So that was it for Day Two of Bumbershoot.  The so-called "slow" day, but about as much fun as either Days One and Three.

Bumbershoot, Day Two

Today, Sunday, was supposed to be the slow day for me at Bumbershoot, the day I just had to exercise a little patience and endurance to get from Saturday to Monday, although I kept wondering how a day that featured both Kishi Bashi and Pickwick could ever be considered "dull."  But as it turns out, the weather held up (mostly sunny, no rain), and the music, after a slow start, was terrific. Here's a recap:

MANATEE COMMUNE

To be honest, I never really gave this guy much of a chance, just stuck my head in the Pavillion Stage for a minute or two, and then wandered off to go see Hobosexual.

HOBOSEXUAL

A drum-and-guitar duo, the unfortunately named Hobosexual played loud, crunching rock with long hair flying and metal influences clearly displayed, but it was hard to figure how seriously they were taking themselves, and how seriously we needed to take them.

GOLDEN GARDENS

Far better than the first two bands of the day, Golden Gardens trafficked in ethereal, slightly gothic, electronic soundscapes, with spacey vocals floating over the wash of sound.  They kept asking us to dance, but we didn't. Welcome to Seattle, folks.

SANDRIDER

Loud.  Metal. Ignorable.

KISHI BASHI

Kishi Bashi didn't start until 3:00, and at one point this morning I thought about staying away from the festival until then, but I'm glad I got there early enough to catch those initial bands and to get a good position one row off the rail for Kishi Bashi.  The people around me didn't seem to know him or what he does, and it was fun watching them discover as he unpacked his bag of tricks.

CRAFT SPELLS

After a slow start, the festival schedulers put me through the paces for the next several hours.  After K. Ishibashi's set ended at 4:00, I had to rush over to the Endzone Stage in Memorial Coliseum to catch Craft Spells, who started promptly at 4:00.  I missed their first song (After The Moment?) or two, and got there as they were already playing, but I stayed for the rest of their short, 30-minute set.

DREAM SYNDICATE

80s faves The Dream Syndicate started at 4:30 just as Craft Spells finished, so I had to hustle from the Endzone Stage in Memorial Coliseum to the Starbucks Stage by the mural for their set.  Bonus points for an extended John Coltrane Stereo Blues full of squealing guitar dissonance, and for getting to see Mike Mills Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey watching the set from backstage.

NEGATIVLAND

Negativland's set overlapped with The Dream Syndicate's, so when it sounded like the latter was wrapping it up, I bolted over to the Pavilion Stage to catch Negativland's set in progress. Much to my surprise, there was a long line to get in (I apparently underestimated Negativland's popularity with the Seattle audience), but once inside, I was treated to their caustic wit, righteous indignation, and bizarre mix of sampled sounds, highjacked video, and electronic music.

PICKWICK

Things slowed down after the Negativland set, and I was finally able to get some dinner, and I met Tomo Nakayama walking through the crowd with his new puppy (he was kind enough to gracefully acknowledge my recognition).  After eating, I had to choose between watching the band Pickwick (the best band you never heard of), hear an all-star, Big Star tribute, or catch San Fermin, all scheduled to play at the same time (why couldn't the organizers put any of these bands on before 3:00, when I would have appreciated their presence?).  I eventually moseyed over to the Fisher Green Stage where Pickwick was scheduled to start in about 45 minutes, and surprisingly was able to get a spot right on the rail at center stage, a rare feat for a crowded, evening set.  I almost didn't recognize lead singer Galen Disston due to his new haircut (the former, Dylanesque look is gone), but Pickwick was on fire and played unquestionably the best set I've heard from them yet, and they even trotted a six-man horn section out onto the stage to accompany them on their final three or four songs.  A special night by the band, and I knew that I had made the right choice.

BOOTSY COLLINS

My original plan had been to leave after Pickwick, but since I got the center stage rail, I realized that all I had to do was stay right where I was to get the same spot to see funk legend Bootsy Collins from a once-in-a-lifetime vantage point at the front of the stage, a nearly impossible feat for a Bumbershoot headliner (and I can honestly say I don't expect to ever see Bootsy from that spot again).  Bootsy is a natural entertainer and showman, and his set was fun, exhilarating, thoroughly entertaining, and, well, funky.  I'm glad that I stayed.

So that was the "slow" day. I didn't expect to be rushing around so much from one stage to the next on the "slow" day, nor to have heard so much terrific music.  A slow start to be sure, but once it going, wow.  And Monday looks to be every bit as special. 

Hobosexual

On Sunday, August 31, near the start of the second day of my last-ever Bumbershoot, the Seattle band Hobosexual will take the Fountain Lawn stage.  I don't know if I'll be there for them or not, but if their live performance is anything like this video, they may be a lot of fun.

Sunday highlights include Kishi Bashi and Craft Spells, and some genius in the scheduling department decided to put Pickwick and San Fermin on at the same time.  I'll probably go with Pickwick, as they rarely tour the American South and as I'll get to see San Fermin open for Courtney Barnett during Rocktober, although some genius in the scheduling department booked that show at The Loft on the same night that The War On Drugs plays The Tabernacle. 

Kishi Bashi at Terminal West, Atlanta, June 11, 2014

Meanwhile, back in the here and now, Kishi Bashi performed last night at Atlanta's Terminal West.  Added bonus points for the dream-team match-up of Atlanta's own Takenobu opening up for him. 

Takenobu can be described as the Andrew Bird of the cello (or the Kishi Bashi of the cello, for that matter) for the way he used a loop repeater to build up layers to play over until he sounds almost like a one-man orchestra.  We've seen Takenobu before, but never on a stage this big or in front of an audience as large as last night's sold-out Terminal West.  Despite some technical problems with a fuzzed-out cable, he performed a great set and hopefully took at least a small step forward in getting the recognition he deserves. 

Next up were Kishi Bashi's tour mates Buried Beds. The band includes members Eliza Jones of Strand of Oaks and Dave Hartley of The War On Drugs, some of my favorite bands, and I've long maintained that bassist Dave Hartley is the best in the business at what he does.

Their songs are inspired by folklore, fairy tales, local Philadelphia legends, science theories, and family stories, and contain underground giants, children of the sea, and the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics.

Somehow, it didn't all come together for me.  They're all skilled musicians and didn't play a single false note all night, but I didn't warm to the fairy tales and poppish nature of the project.  However, given their pedigree and musicianship, I think this could be a great band if they ever get serious and decide to start rocking. 

Last night was the end of the Buried Beds/Kishi Bashi tour, 33 gigs in not too many more days.  We last saw K. Ishibashi in Athens back before the tour began, and if I could get my way, I'd try to see him at least every 90 days or so.  He didn't play or do anything new compared to the Athens gig, but that's not to say anything sounded old or stale either - both nights, he served up his own unique, complex brand of pop rock exactly the way we fans want it.

He opened the set with Philosophize In It! Chemicalize With It!, covered Bright Whites somewhere toward the middle of the set, and held It All Began With a Burst back for the encore.

Amidst all the pop and hit songs, he even found space for a few improvisations, a little bit of experimentalism, and a few spaced-out passages.

As always, props to his sideman, Mike Savino (Tall Tall Trees) on "space banjo."



The set ended with three solo songs by Bashi, including a lovely version of I Am the Antichrist.

The encore included (but was not limited to) a tour finale group shot featuring the band, the entourage, openers Buried Beds, and the audience, followed by It All Began With A Burst, followed by a crowd surf, followed by a cover of Whole Lotta Love.

Good times.

It All Began With A Burst

Kishi Bashi shows how it's all done.  "I was bitten by a mosquito this morning."

Dude, I Was There!

From Kishi Bashi's encore set during Saturday night's Slingshot Festival in Athens.

Kishi Bashi at the Georgia Theater, Athens, March 22, 2014

Kishi Bashi performed an energetic and joyful set last night at the Georgia Theater in his hometown of Athens as part of something called the Slingshot Festival.  Slingshot appears to be Athens' way of observing March Madness.  

Spread over four city blocks and dozens of venues, the Slingshot Festival included international, national, and local acts, boundary-pushing artworks throughout the urban environment, and, as increasingly common at music festivals these days, tech talks with leading innovators during the day, so that IT folks can attend and write it off their taxes as "training" and "networking."  Little wonder it's held before April 15.

Slingshot's Saturday night sets at the Georgia Theater opened with Atlanta's Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun.

It was our second time seeing TTMTTS, after 2012's Atlanta Film Festival Sound + Vision event (for some reason, it seems we only see them as a part of some larger enterprise).  They put on a good set of their highly danceable, electro-pop music, although the Athens audience by and large resisted shaking their asses and just stood here and watched.

The next band up was Athens' Electrophoria.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Electrophoria.  According to their band bio, "Core members Kai Riedl (Macha) and Suny Lyons (pacific UV) have criss-crossed the globe (mainly to Java Indonesia) recording everything  from bands in darkly-lit nightclubs in bustling cities to bamboo huts way way off the grid."  Here's a sample recording from Kai's Soundcloud page:

Apparently, it didn’t stop there, as Riedl and Lyons then used those recordings to build new songs with the sounds in these field recordings, taking loops, samples and segments of the songs, and remixing, re-imagining, and integrating them with musicians from in and around Athens into a variety of styles, including pop, dance, ambient, electronica, and experimental.  But I didn't hear any exotic loops or remixed world music last night.  Maybe I was expecting to hear a funkier version of the New Age band Deep Forest, but other than some interesting and challenging time signatures by their remarkable drummer, they sounded more like a slightly goth electronica band, which isn't a bad thing at all (they were quite good), but not what I was expecting, is all.

Kishi Bashi took the stage at 11 sharp, after his usual prelude of Ravel's Bolero played over the PA.  

Bashi was extremely animated and energetic throughout the set, dancing around the stage and working the audience up.  His music was as fun and joyful as ever, an explosion of pop melodies and complex loops, supported by the "space banjo" of collaborator Tall Tall Trees (Mike Savino).

Kishi Bashi may not be a household name, but almost everybody knows his music, even of they don't know who it's by, from that ubiquitous Windows 8 commercial from last year:

Bright Whites, the song from that commercial, was the second song in his set, much to the delight of everybody in the Georgia Theater.  So that I don't leave you with just a tease, here's the full version of Bright Whites as performed in the KEXP studios:

Bashi played most of the songs from his excellent debut LP, 151a, as well as several new songs from his upcoming Lighght (his spelling, not my typo).  Last night, he played with a backing band and he also played several songs solo, just his violin, his voice, and his loop repeater, with no loss in the fullness of the sound.

The encore included a very unexpected cover of Paul McCartney and Wings' Live and Let Die of all things.

The set also concluded with confetti cannons, slingshots attempting (not very successfully) to shoot t-shirts and glow sticks into the audience, and Bashi stage-diving into the audience and breaking a pinata with a stick over the heads of the crowd. 

In all, the evening was a joyful celebration of music, life, and the possibility of infinite happiness. 

One last thing:

New Kishi Bashi

Kishi Bashi at The Earl, March 14, 2013

Speaking as we were yesterday about Kishi Bashi, it's coincidental that some new music has surfaced this week from the Japanese violinist/pop auteur. Here's Philosophize In It! Chemicalize With It! from his forthcoming second LP.