Neon Indian – Granada – 12/28/09

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The much hyped and discussed (and local) Neon Indian came to Dallas to hit the Granada on the 28th, and Jill, Anna and I went to check it out.  One thing we all agreed on:  not only did they sound fantastic, but their live set was more enjoyable than the album cuts (Psychic Chasms).  For the complete review, photos, upcoming tour dates, and sample MP3s, hit the jump. 

I came in for the closing song of the final opener, and basically what I took away was that it was a dude with a long moustache and long hair with white pants who closed his set by turning his back to the crowd and spanking his own ass while sticking it out.  Music was enjoyable, from the one and one half songs that I heard.   After a short break, onto Neon Indian.

Overall, the show was really excellent.  Powerful, tight presentations, all of the songs sounded really well done and the band was really thriving.  Strangely, though, the beginnings of each song was fairly disorganized.  They would finish one song, then after a break, they would fire up the drum machine/digital beats, then everyone would just kind of start to fill in.  It was really strange, but I can’t say it necessarily took away from the songs.  It just felt a little disorganized/unprepared.  However, this intro period would be relatively short, and once the full song fired up, the memory of a disheveled start was erased.

Neon Indian also has this visual show which they projected onto the two big screens on either side of the stage at the Granada, as well as projecting it directly onto the stage (and on top of themselves).  The visuals are a mesmerizing psychadellic mix of repeated, short cuts of 80s movies.  Definitely sort of awesome.

Somewhere between MGMT, Black Kids and Animal Collective, Neon Indian’s electronic, beat driven pop really resonated with the crowd as they got warm (but not crazed) reactions from the crowd for every song they played.  It doesn’t seem their dance elements are quite to the level that would get people seriously grooving (as opposed to, say, Cut/Copy), but the crowd was definitely into it.  A bit of a head scratching choice was when only part of the band returned for an encore (specifically, the elements of VEGA, the other related project), and played No Reasons by VEGA.  Awesome closer, awesome song, but why perform a song from a separate project?  It would be like rattling off a Department of Eagles song during a Grizzly Bear show. 

At any rate, minor issues aside, the music was very much top notch.  Quick show, but powerful, and it left everyone almost hypnotized by the easy grooving beats and resulted in a unanimous thumbs up (except for the girl standing next to me who kept yelling “Fuck You!” during the VEGA closer.  So odd, but that’s another story.)  Nice work.

Neon Indian – Deadbeat Summer from Psychic Chasms
Neon Indian - Should Have Taken Acid With You from Psychic Chasms

1/15/10 – Chicago, IL – Schubas Tavern
1/30/10 – Denton, TX – Hailey’s
2/2/10 – NY, NY – E&L Auditorium
2/11/10 – Allston, MA – Great Scott
3/26/10 – San Fran, CA – Mezzanine
3/31/10 – Quincy, MA – Sasquatch Festival