DEERHOOF
The Fleece, Bristol | June 23rd
Sometimes music can prove as slippery as a fish. When you think you’ve figured out where it sits in the great library of our minds, an element is added that blows preconceptions apart. Deerhoof are one such fish. A barracuda of a band. Elusive but revered for its stealth and uniqueness.
Since their early days in San Francisco producing tapes of bass and harmonica solos, their uncompromising nature has found an audience who understand and appreciate where they’re coming from. Their DIY attitude caught the attention of independent record label Kill Rock Stars, who went on to release their music for the next fourteen years. Last year’s Breakup Song, showed a band content to revel in their art-pop-prog surrealism. And tonight’s set sees thing getting suitably weird from the outset.
They begin with The Tears And Music Of Love, which blows the roof off the place. It is a dead ringer for Free’s Alright Now, but with that ubiquitous twisted perspective. Greg Saunier’s drumming is still one of the outstanding elements of their sound. Heavily hit and littered with offset rhythms, his jazzy overtones dominate our attention until he rises from his seat and takes the microphone front and centre. All he wants is the monitor to be fixed, but manages to take five minutes to slowly form his sentences. It’s funny, endearing and slightly painful.
But as soon as Panda, Panda, Panda kicks in, all is well and weird again. Ripping through the noise to reveal the tender heart of lead singer and bassist Satomi Matsuzaki, her childish tones offer relief from the angular tension. The sinking darkness of I Did Crimes For You and the unravelling puzzle that is Chandelier Searchlight are Deerhoof at their best. Whilst also being the most accessible, newer tracks such as, Fete d’adieu and Flower show that they have lost none of their flair for the strange and groovy.
The joyous encore of Basketball Get Your Groove Back seems the perfect ending to the night. If there’s an edifying aspect to tonight, it’s the knowledge that all preconceptions of this band will be blown apart as soon as you experience their intense and, more than anything, fun live shows. Very few bands have the tenacity and heart to be so original.
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Words: Philip James Allen
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