Noise Pop night with Autolux at the Independent...

I was lucky enough to get tickets to Autolux headlining the Friday 3/2/07 Noise Pop night that went off at San Francisco's The Independent last week.  According to the Noise Pop pamphlet I picked up at Amoeba, Autolux's sophomore album is in the finishing stages and fans in attendance on Friday were given a glimpse into the Future Perfect follow-up album with one or two tunes off the new compilation getting some air during their set.  After what I heard on Friday, I can't wait for the new album to hit the stores.

For my friends and I that went to the show, the evening was mostly a band marathon because Oakland locals Death of a Party, Montreal's musically whimsical Malajube and the Joy Division-inspired Snowden all played before the main act ever got off a note.

Oakland locals Death of a Party played a few catchy tunes and featured an exceptionally mobile and at times, seemingly frantic lead singer although several of us commented that the band's sound wasn't all that original in this day and age of bands like The Lovemakers, The Killers, The Bravery, and Louis XIV, already making the rounds on the airwaves.  I give the band credit for getting the party started with some energy though and for the fact that the lead singer was sick.  Aren't we all right now though? [A-chew!]

Malajube's lead singer was as talented a comedian with his Montreal microphone drawl as he was a deft and delightful string picker on his Gibson guitar.  With two guitar players adding to the mix the group carried off a very big sound and were one of the more inventive bands I've seen in a while on the arrangement and chord structure fronts.  Lots of changes and modulations that weren't the typical fare of so many New York hair bands.  One of my friends at the show noted that Malajube's keyboard player looked like he might take flight he was bouncing so hard on the stage, so in tune with his axe.  This band was well-rehearsed and sounded great on the sound system at the Divisadero St. club.

After Malajube's set, it was time for Altanta, Georgia's Snowden to take their best shot.  This band was a lot different stylistically than Malajube with a more straight forward, lunging beat and chugging rhythms.  Their sound could be corked down the vein of Joy Division or Joy-wannabe's Interpol, if they all were taking anti-depressants and had forgotten the rest of bottle.  Many reviews have compared this band with The Cure as well but I don't see the resemblance at all.  Jordan Jeffare's guitar and vocals, and Corinne Lee's smooth moves, slick licks, backing vox and incredible good looks were reminiscent of the good ol' days of 80s music; New Order, Depeche Mode and so many other bands that were not only stylish, but had the chops and the tunes to keep up with their fashion sense.

The only complaint we all had about the night was that the mixing especially for the vocals from out vantage point at stage right never seemed to be quite right.  Either the vocals were too quiet or the guitars were too loud and we witnessed a lot of finger pointing from the bands on stage to the off stage mix engineer while the bands were playing.  Autolux bionic-armed drummer Carla Azar even leaned over to say something to the side engineer about someone's level on stage.  None of us were quite sure what the front of house engineer was hearing but I hope it was a lot better that what we were hearing from our position.

Snowden was the surprise of the night with the smokin' hawt bass player Corrine Lee who was duking it out with her bass and the floor all night.  She has some smooth stage moves for sure.  Jordan Jeffares might not win the So You Think You Can Dance contest anytime soon but the So You Think You Can Write Good Songs competition he's got covered and the energy from this band was hot and heavy.  Chandler Rentz' kick drum was one of the largest I've seen other than at a Van Halen show and the sound was indicative of its size.  Rentz got the beat and kept it strong all night long until Jordan Jeffares introduced the headliner Autolux and we waited yet again for the change over to occur between bands.

Autolux's first album includes a boatload of really unique sounds in between the songs and some very specific guitar noises that can't be replicated exactly like the album sounds and I wouldn't want it to sound exactly like the album anyway.  What they did do was put us into a dreamlike trance state with a couple of new songs and the majority of  2004's Future Perfect album including Plant Life, Robots in the Garden and Sub Zero Fun to name a few.

What many people were saying after the show as we walked out was, why didn't they play Here Comes Everybody, their radio hit that originally turned me on to the band via Live 105's Soundcheck show.  Towards the end of Autolux's set, someone asked from the crowd "What can I expect from this show!?" and bassist/vocalist Eugene Goreshter replied back: "I don't know...  You'll just have to wait and see" and shortly after that, Eugene sat down near his cabinet on stage as an effect-drenched drone emanated from the speaker while former Failure guitarist Greg Edwards was working on some part of his rig that must've been an integral part of the show.

After about 15 minutes that seemed more like a half hour, the band resume playing the last of the set songs and after the vibe killing mechanical failure, I think the band wanted to pack it in and hope for better luck at their next show.  Here Comes Everybody does have a very specific sound for it's opening riff that might've been difficult to simulate without Greg Edwards' complete guitar effect compliment in working order and shortly after the last song was over, I saw one of the backstage managers give the universal throat slit sign to the front-of-house sound guy, and the lights came up.

All in all, it was a great night with the exception of the minor Autolux hiccup, the moron who decided to voice his concerns regarding his expectations for the show and the tool set of drunk frat guys in front of us that were either swaying about two feet across the view of the band in front of us or talking amongst themselves about some ridiculous female related nonsense or some homophobic rant or other.  We all ignored them and their inebriation and enjoyed the exceptionally intimate show.  I hope we get to see Autolux in such an intimate environment again someday and that they feel better about playing the one song we all missed at the show.