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Brian Kerin Ebbtide Reporter As an avid concertgoer and fan of all sorts of musical styles I find it pretty rare that I actually come across something that is either completely fresh sounding or cliché-free by comparison. Upon first listen, and first sight for that matter, the outrageously entertaining Dance Disaster Movement fits safely into both of those categories. At a recent show at the Graceland, a packed room was treated to an experiment rooted in destroying musical autonomy and avoiding the traps of musical trends and movements. The gift that Dance Disaster Movement gave an audience of mostly "hipsters" was a infectious brand of music that was not only able to fit in their somewhat narrow genre of music, but it was also danceable, a characteristic not found in most other hipster-friendly bands such as the Carissa's Weird and Pedro the Lion. More specifically, DDM gave fans trapped in a genre an out. Hailing from Long Beach, CA, DDM exhibits elements of punk, new wave and disco, as well as an electronic techno-esque feel. Both members of the band dress completely in white, with one manning a drum set and the other in charge of a phrase-repeating guitar, loop-friendly keyboard and any number of random electronic devices used to make all the weird sounds and noises in DDM's music. The stage was lighted in an ominous red, which made front man Kevin Disco's free-flowing schizophrenic dance steps appear that much more erratic. Although I had originally gone to see that night's headliner, Pretty Girls Make Graves, I have to admit that seeing DDM really stuck out in my head. When I first heard Pretty Girls' first LP, "Good Health," I fell in love with the band members' dueling guitar work, their use of sonic noise and the bellowing vocals of lead singer Andrea Zollo. On stage, the rest of the band dwarfs Zollo, but the more she belts out the wonderfully written lyrics, the bigger a persona she takes on. Appearing almost shy, Zollo seems to play off the "only girl in a guy band" idea; her appearance sends the same message with eyes hidden either behind either a low-brimmed baseball hat or her bangs. Zollo is really only present as heard through a wailing set of lungs that are never driven out by the music. The Pretty Girls have been in the studio for the last month or so and just finished up their album, which is set to be released sometime in September. The lucky people who attended the Graceland that night were treated to a set filled with many new, never-before heard songs; I only recognized three songs from their past records. The new material showed that the band is maturing, writing better songs with a more melodic touch and better musicianship. It was obvious that the band is trying to appeal to a larger audience with a more listener-friendly brand of tunes. This may be a sign that the Pretty Girls are setting themselves up to be one of the bands in the spotlight for yet another music explosion, which some journalists predict will occur in Seattle in the coming months. Lately, I have felt rather jaded as far as music goes. I have that "been there, done that" kind of a feeling. Still, after seeing such a original set by the DDM and a brand-new bunch of songs from one of my favorite local bands, I couldn't help feeling rejuvenated, ready and open for a whole summer of concerts and new music. © 2003 Shoreline Community College™ |