indiemusik

I made it out to the Skylark Cafe last night – at first, I thought I walked into a Sounders FC Club after party, judging by the disproportionate number of green t-shirts in attendance! About 10 minutes later, the Angry Orts took the stage, their first Seattle appearance on their 4 day tour of the Pacific Northwest. The lead singer Sara Wiltshire sang with such urgency and volume, like a rallying call to the dance floor. Her joints would lock, then swing freely in congruence with drummer Matthew Hernandez’s kicks and crashes. The live show is dynamic and unassuming, in the grand tradition of punk rock music. The Orts condense their punk rock songs into pop songs you can dance to, and the immediacy was powerful enough to bring the comatose crowd to their feet. I eagerly anticipate the release of their new record this fall.

Fancy Bandits played next, dolled up in coordinated strapless tops and dresses, like a troop of gypsy sirens. Opening song “Emily’s Girl” aspires to the theatrics of the cabaret but it rolls out more like a carnival funhouse at the state fair. The chords on the keyboard ebb and retreat, carried out in default electric piano tones and presets; the song resides in memory, unfortunately much longer than it’s welcome. The frustrating part about the performance by Emily West(drums), Gina Kontur(bass) and Veigh was that their live performance lacked any sign of life. Watching Fancy Bandits, one can’t help but cringe at the feebleness of their delivery. The music and songwriting of Fancy Bandits is the greatest albatross of them all. The fact that their songs are encumbered with multiple verses and refrains doesn’t help but reinforce how much discomfort they bring.