MusicFestNW Report #2: Battles, Deerhunter, Starfucker Killing It

It's almost as if we went to war last night: Battles, Deerhunter, Starfucker—everyone seemed out to battle, hunt, fuck and kill, and kill it they all did. Battles played like a military invasion, tight and on target. Deerhunter shook the body into feeling like a giant bleeding ear. And Starfucker seduced us into believing it was all worth it—though they could've made it last longer. Following their shockingly short set (less than twenty minutes and a lot of gasps) at Portland's Holocene nightclub, Starfucker multi-instrumentalist Ryan Biornstad told me that they intended on cutting it short, that they wanted to leave the crowd hanging unexpectedly in anticipation for their upcoming CD release show (Sept. 18), a strategic move of sorts I suppose. Still, being a band so well-known around town for their stellar live performances, I think I can speak for everyone in the crowd last night when I say: We wanted more and getting more would in no way have impeded our interest in your CD release. Starfucker, you've got great funky grooves and catchy-as-hell beats: Why make us stop dancing?

Starfucker: Sweet but TOO short. photo by Karyn-Lynn Fisette

It may not have been quite as easy to dance to Deerhunter, who followed Starfucker. But their incredible set no doubt made up for it. The irony of their debut album's title (Turn It Up Faggot) is not lost on me (nor my bleeding ears)—they are perhaps one of the loudest bands I've ever experienced live. It felt as though there were a hurricane of grey noise swirling around the stage, thick and heavy and hazy and hot, reverberating my innards, pulling me into another world where the ominous landscape is dark and fuzzed-out and the soundtrack is manic, deafening and psychedelic.

Deerhunter's Bradford Cox. photo by Karyn-Lynn Fisette

But noise wasn't the only thing escaping the stage—Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox had some talking to do, and his pants had some opinions to share. His bass player had been missing when he said, "Unfortunately our bass player is what you would call a transient, a shape-shifter. That is overwhelmingly the opinion of my pants. He's an enigma, a shifting of shapes." His nonsensical rants and sudden subject shifts kept audience members on their toes, eager to participate with shout outs like: "What do you think of Sarah Palin?" To which Cox sternly replied: "I am a republican conservative!" Everyone in the room roared. And then he quickly changed the subject to corporate oppression. Brilliant.

Deerhunter: Loud. photo by Karyn-Lynn Fisette

Last night started early and with a hell of a bang. Battles drilled with mechanical might through a 7 p.m. set at the cavernous Wonder Ballroom. Their almost entirely all-instrumental show carried out like a military attack: First strategically slow and building then exploding into massive repetitive pummels and riffs, injecting the crowd with mind-melting sort of energy.

Battles' Tyondai Braxton. photo by Karyn-Lynn Fisette

It was easy to get lost in the redundancy of their crisp, dark noise and imagine yourself in a strange, warped space where pissed-off rhythms thunder out and electronic manipulations suck you in. An enormous cloud of pot smoke puffed out and drifted above the audience, rising, changing shapes and dissipating—it felt perfectly appropriate to the battles onstage.

Battles' Ian Williams. photo by Karyn-Lynn Fisette

Chicago hip hop duo The Cool Kids infected an overflowing crowd of waving arms at Roseland with their high-energy souped-up mix of old school beats, spinning, scratching and tongue-twisted rhymes with such flow, they washes over you like an unholy baptism.

Chuck Inglish and Mikey Rocks. photo by Karyn-Lynn Fisette

Much of their hyped-up, confrontational set took me back to the hip hop styles of the late '80s and early '90s, due mostly to the old school feel of the simple vibrating bass, tinny, crunching dance beats and a few Flavor Flav 'Yeah boyeee's.' The pair— Mikey Rocks and Chuck Inglish—showed nothing but sincere excitement for being onstage, engaging the crowd as often as possible, demonstrating their hard-working commitment to ensuring good times in the crowd. "I want to make this place way wilder!" Inglish spat into his mic. After beckoning concertgoers to lift their arms above their heads, clap their hands and repeat after them ("We say: You get in like that! You say: You got in like what?"), Inglish proudly confirmed, "I think we wakin' up around here bro."

No sleep 'til... photo by Karyn-Lynn Fisette

None of that sleeping business over here. Tonight: Britt Daniel, Built to Spill, Lackthereof, Eat Skull, White Fang, Old Time Relijun, John Vanderslice, TV On The Radio, Portugal The Man, Jaguar Love, Laura Gibson, the list goes on and on. Stay tuned.