re:mote voices

Headliner:Deerhoof
Support:holy fuck
Venue:ABC, Glasgow, Monday 25th June 2007

I was reminded in conversation the other night that I never actually wrote about the Deerhoof gig in June, one of a number of things that I have intended to catch up on. Despite having known about this gig for months, the decision to actually go along was something of a last minute one. Currently I get up at 6am for work, so I have to think about how late a gig might finish on a Monday night before deciding whether I can make it or not. As such, it was the Saturday afternoon when I decided to take a wander into the ticket office. Doubt crept in when the band were no longer listed on the wall, when I asked the reply was hesitant - how many tickets do you need? One. Oh, ok, we've got one. Turning up on the night, it was clear I had just made it, the banner across the front of the venue "Deerhoof- Sold Out".

Often I will turn up at gigs really early, even when I did not actually intend to. So this night, I made an effort, sick of standing around for ages waiting for delayed doors to open, or for average support bands to appear. Turning up a good half hour over the doors time, I arrived to find I had just missed one of the support bands, and that the second Holy Fuck were about to go on. With piles of electronic gear on a couple of table tops, and a backing rhythm section, I formed certain expectations of the band from the start. Which were not met. For all the gear, they might as well have been the most average of four piece indy rock bands. A few token gesture, cliched, vocal samples to start pieces, and then they sank into electronic rhythms which suggested nothing new or interesting.

Deerhoof are a three piece, who I have heard one album by, along with the stray track here or there. But I admit, I am not especially familiar with them, deciding to go along mainly for the sake of seeing a live band. After the clutter of Holy Fuck, they seemed to have a much more minimal stage presence. John Dieterich the guitarist took the typical drum position on stage, middle and to the rear, while the drummer Greg Saunier was set up to the far right of the stage, and singer/bassist Satomi Matsuzaki was set up on the far left. The attention focuses on Satomi Matsuzaki, being the vocalists, and the bouncy, quirky element of the band, though at times, given her height she seemed to disappear behind a sea of too tall people. Between tracks Saunier and Dietrich would offer random banter, with "funny" members of the audience talking back.

The gig was reasonably fun. I was surprised by how familiar i felt with a lot of the material, given that I wouldn't have suggested I particularly knew the band's material. Even for a sold out gig, the venue didn't feel too busy, and there was a generally good atmosphere through out.