The Sounds On The Street Really Fascinate Me

Erase Errata @ Irving Plaza 9/13/2006
Cruising / Rider / Another Genius Idea From Our Government / Hotel Suicide / (brief song that I did not recognize) / Dust / Beacon / Giant Hans / He Wants What’s Mine / Retreat! The Most Familiar / Wasteland (In A…) / Tax Dollar

Erase Errata “Another Genius Idea From Our Government” – I’m not usually so thrilled with shows that pull their setlist almost entirely from an act’s most recent record, but in the case of this Erase Errata set, it was both perfect and sort of necessary. Without the presence of Sarah Jaffe, the emphasis of their music has changed considerably without compromising the basic identity of the band. I don’t mean this to be a knock on Jaffe or their previous recordings, but Nightlife is the sound of a band that has finally found its focus, and that carried over into their performance last night. With Jaffe, their music had a constant nervous twitch that shook the songs in place, whereas the current incarnation of the group specialize in capturing a feeling of propulsion through space. “Another Genius Idea From Our Government” in particular begins with a few moments of tension before shooting the remainder of the song foward like a poisoned dart at its intended target. (Have a guess as to who that might be.) The trio were as tight as I had hoped they would be, and filled lulls between selections by linking outros and intros rather than halting for breaks. The group’s demeanor on stage is a bit hard to pin down — they are friendly and unpretentious but not at all warm, and often come across as people lost in concentration even though they play so casually that it makes their taut grooves, sharp hooks, and inspired noise seem easy. (Click here to buy it from Buy Olympia.)

The Gossip “Standing in the Way of Control” – My memory is a bit fuzzy on this, but I have not seen the Gossip play since rather early in their career when they were opening for Sleater-Kinney and had more of a scuzzy garage rock thing going on. They were fun and compelling back then, but they’ve grown into something much better. Though I’m not crazy about the explosion in rock duos over the course of the past ten years (I understand the interpersonal and economic reasons for this, but more often than not I think it leads to a poverty of texture and dynamics in the music), but Brace Paine has a talent for implying a full sound with only his bass or guitar, and Beth Ditto’s strong, confident voice is more than enough to color in the rest of the compositions. The best songs in their set were the intense dance numbers from their latest record, as well as an irony-free cover of Aaliyah’s “Are You That Somebody” with backing vocals by Erase Errata’s Jenny Hoyston. (Click here to buy it from Buy Olympia.)

Mika Miko “Business Cats” – Mika Miko seemed shy and nervous on stage, but in the sweetest, more ingratiating way possible. Between bursts of quick, shouty punk tunes largely sung via a red courtesy phone, the girls in the band occasionally addressed the audience with an obviously anxious and grateful tone, but spoke so quickly that every apparent “thank you” was almost entirely unintelligable. Though only a few of their songs were fully formed, the group was long on charm and showed great promise. I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if they eventually evolve into something quite good, just as Erase Errata and The Gossip have over the past half-decade or so. (Click here to buy it from Buy Olympia.)

Elsewhere: My new Hit Refresh column is up on the ASAP site and includes songs from Minimum Chips, Soulwax, and Viva l’American Death Ray Music.