Several times, from behind a wall marked “Band Only” to the right of the outdoor stage at Red 7, as we listened to the hard rocking of the Thermals and the hipster musements of Yoni Wolf (what an image that name conjures), the masked and querulous visage of a strange looking fellow would appear for a moment, squirrel-like, and then duck out of sight. The second or third time this occurred I noticed that the Zorroesque bandit mask around his eyes was in fact painted on, like a football player overambitious with the kohl. He wore red leather pants with a triangiform design down one leg, and a matching shirt. He scanned the audience and did not appear to find what he was looking for. Once Yoni was done with his lonely keyboard, this Zorro appeared on stage, followed by a troupe of similarly clad musicians. These were the members of Fol Chen—a misguided band from California. A masked keyboardist, a masked bassist, a masked lead singer/guitarist with heroic hair, a drummer (the squirrelly one), and another keyboardist, also masked, this one the only lady member of the troupe. The seeming arbitrary-yet-loud nature of their costume was to be a precursor of their sound: an intentional (one hopes) cacophony of mashed chords and wailing falsetto vocals and sloppy rhythms, yet with none of the fuller and more fulfilling mystery of Deerhoof, nor the wailing soul and sexiness of Beck at his more whimsical—though it seemed they had intended some sort of amalgam of the two. Like the kid who sits in the front row of philosophy class, they appeared to have a lot of interesting ideas they could not quite grasp, let alone put into words, yet hesitated not at all to do so anyway. But there was a strip of sun at the outside edge of the tent in which one could stand, mostly content, and daydream as the kid had his say.
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Ugh. Paste’s profile of Free Energy made me kind of hate them. So does your review. It’s this unctuous defense of good-time rock-and-roll ("we’re just here to party, and we’re awesome!") that seems more self-serving than fun-loving.
by beth on Wed Mar 17, 2010 at 09.41 pm from the entry: Foreign Born + Free Energy - The Knitting Factory (Brooklyn, NY; Mar. 12, 2010)
that inescapable feeling you are referring to, is that like when you hear something and you could have sworn you heard it before because of the nostalgic catchy quality? or is is like when you’ve heard a band exactly like said band?
great post by the way!
by paul on Wed Mar 17, 2010 at 03.15 pm from the entry: The Novel Ideas - "The Sky Is A Field" - Borrow It
Whoa! I had no idea she was enegaged. You would never know with the way she behaves! Wow!
by art on Wed Mar 17, 2010 at 09.48 am from the entry: Nikki Darlin and John McCauley: 1+1=1
This comment stream is so meta. Great review Kelly.
by chris on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 07.50 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
no prob. The whole album is excellent, combining some of the harder sonics of Los Angeles with the meat of his debut and obviously difficult to summarize in only 50 words… 
I’d say it’s on par with the debut, but better than Los Angeles.
by kelly on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 06.23 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
By the way, I really liked the mp3 posted. Thanks.
by Joshua H on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 06.17 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
WHO WROTE THIS...PUKE ! “WHO WROTE THIS...PUKE ! “Picture yourself coasting your bike past space funk palm trees, homeless harpists, vintage video arcades, electronic drum circles, and 60s psychedelic singers who’re waiting for the bus. Cosmogramma is kinda like that if someone suddenly tripped you just as you’re starting to enjoy the ride. But in a good way.””
by Joshua H on Tue Mar 16, 2010 at 06.17 pm from the entry: Flying Lotus - "Cosmogramma" - Buy It
i sort of dig the face paint
I got a solution: you’re a dick!
absolutely spot on. this band sucks.
I didn’t think it was possible for Asthmatic Kitty to have a bad artist. Well, maybe they just need time to improve the live show - I like the tracks I’ve heard from them.