Lawn Chair of Köln played first. They played an energetic take on punk with a bit of keyboard thrown in. The bassist played some spiky rhythms while the guitarists mostly filled the space with power chords but occasionally added some spice with a brief riff or effect pedal flair. The lead singer and frontwoman stole the show. Her lyrics were often plain and direct, but her presence was strong, almost confrontational, but like she wanted to make sure we were having a good time with her. She jumped in the audience to sing from the floor a few times for the hell of it.
Dummy’s stage presence was rather more reserved, and they had surrounded themselves with synthesizers and other instruments. Of the five members, all but the bassist played synth and percussion at some point. One of the guitarists even started the show shaking a maraca in the audience before climbing up and picking up his main instrument. They were shy and mostly let the music speak for itself, but technical difficulties encouraged them to talk to us more than they might’ve otherwise. They played most of Free Energy and a smattering of older songs, and while they generally set about reproducing the recorded sound on stage, it breathed and felt more alive than I feared it might. I was impressed by how well they’d arranged what sounded like complex studio compositions for live performance. There were a few samples and some of the work was done by sequencers, but that never overwhelmed the feeling of, well, free energy.
The vocals were surprisingly clear, which is something I rarely experience at smaller venues, and especially not with bands that tend towards shoegaze. I wish the two singers did more harmonization or simultaneous vocalization; they mostly just traded parts. Regardless, they sang well and carried the melodies effectively. The rest of the instrumentation stood up just as well. The band’s rhythms were particularly highlighted, which meant that I danced through the entire set. It was captivating. They speak my language.
I didn’t even try to capture the setlist, and I haven’t seen one online yet, but it was probably similar to the night before, except that technical problems prevented them from playing “Dip in the Lake” and “Sudden Flutes” until the encore. Whatever. I enjoyed this from start to finish.
[Dummy.]
Scores:
Lawn Chair: B
Dummy: A
Thanks to Jochen and Tim!
