MCMAF Show Review: Black Fiction, Lemonade, The Fucking Ocean, Head Like a Kite @ 12 Galaxies

Saturday the 12th’s bill at 12 Galaxies traversed the pop, punk, and electronic universes, but provided a good time for the many who swung through for part or all of the night’s festivities.

Photo by: JJ Caguin

In bumming-me-out news, The Fucking Ocean announced during their set that John, one-third of the noisy post-punk trio, was soon leaving for New York, although the band intends to soldier on in a bi-coastal fashion. Having just returned from a cross-country tour, the band was in top form at Saturday’s show, and it’s a real shame that they won’t be playing as many shows in the coming future. Despite the more-than-capable stage at 12 Gs, the band opted to perform on the floor with a few vocal mics and allowing their amps and drums to deliver the band’s tense, immediate songs on their own. If you weren’t there, you may have missed the band’s last performance for a while and, if so, you missed out.

Photo by: JJ Caguin

The band followed a performance by Seattle duo Head Like a Kite, who may have been the anti-Fucking-Ocean in their sharp suits, synth and drum machine-fueled set of electronic pop, and the backdrop of home movie clips projected onto the stage’s screen. Like their visual presentation, HLaK’s sound is a well-orchestrated mix of live instruments and programmed sounds that I’d like to hear more of in the future.

The Head Like a Kite-Fucking Ocean trajectory made more sense when Lemonade took the stage and provided the surprise highlight of the evening. This trio mixed samplers and delay-soaked vocals with live bass and drums to create anthems that worked the crowd into quite a frenzy. It was clear that a good portion of the crowd was there to see them, including one guy who looked so much like a young Kevin Bacon, that it made me long for a contemporary remake of Footloose with a Lemonade soundtrack. I understand that these guys have multiple 12″s and a full-length that they have been working on, and I hope these recordings can capture the amazing energy they can create with their live show. Until the recordings come out, check them out if you’re looking for some psychy mind-blowing, forward-looking dance rock.

Photo by: JJ Caguin

Rounding off the night was a thoroughly enjoyable set by Black Fiction. As we learned in our interview with the band a little while back, these guys are not only working on new material, but are also continually reworking their older stuff too. To that end, Saturday’s set featured a more intense rock take on some of the material from Ghost Ride, including a version of “You Must Not Bury Someone” that ratcheted up the tempo and the guitars to powerful effect. It was an appreciated take on the material, although I’m also a fan of the band’s poppier, quieter moments as well (see: “I Spread The Disease”). Still, I have to give a lot of credit to a band willing to challenge its own performance abilities and its audience’s expectations by evolving on the stage–it’s one of the things that makes me keep wanting to see this band again.