The Days of Lore

Low commotion

Sunday, November 9th, 2008 | musiX, pdX

Live: Crystal Stilts, Cause Co-Motion! and Hornet Leg at Holocene, 11.7.08

Sometimes I think about how a band becomes a buzz-band. One minute you’re bashing out songs with some buddies, the next minute a writer for some hip blog is dipping into his or her pool of snazzy adjectives and doting over you like a newborn baby, and before you know it you’re traveling the country on the label’s bill. Then some blathering boob decides that half-baked alliteration is a brilliant way to buoy the phenomenon. It boggles the mind. Two of Brooklyn’s busiest, buzziest bands made their way to Portland to bestow on us what the buzz is all about … OK, I’m done.

I read a recent article in the Village Voice that said psych five-piece Crystal Stilts lacked stage presence. Sure, the members hardly twitched, but the songs the Stilts have put on wax were very alive on stage with warm tones dueling chilly echo. There was no between-song banter. Even when vocalist Brad Hargett did say something, it was so awash with echo you couldn’t decipher the words anyway. In the end it was sort of like sitting in a dim tunnel eating a big plate of [insert comfort food here].

On the flipside, I thought labelmates, Brooklyn neighbors and exclamation mark-happy Cause Co-Motion! would be the life of the party(!). The band’s release It’s Time! is a blast of ’60s bubblegum laced with methamphetamine. Live it was a bit jumbled, and the only thing moving was bassist Liam (no last name), who had his own dance party in the back corner of stage right. In the end it was like, well, sitting in a dark bar drinking a Jack and Coke … which created quite a buzz as well.

Tags: Brad Hargett, Cause Co-Motion!, Crystal Stilts, Holocene, live, Village Voice

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