I saw neon indian live the other week and it was epic! i was front row center because i showed up at like happy hour. i also spent a good amount getting their vinyl and "should have taken acid with you" shirt. sadly, i didn't bring my analog camera because the rules vary so much on photography at concerts but i did have my cell phone so i did the best i could with that. those to follow.
There were two opening acts but i had no idea who it was. A group took the stage who looked like they were about my age. I raised an eyebrow at first i mean how could college-age kids open for neon indian? Then they played and i was in love. The vocals were great the songs were all different and engaging and it just plain sounded great! I made a trip out to the t-shirt/music vendors and discovered i had just seen Body Language but they hadn't played "work this city" so i totally had no idea. I dug out $10 for their ep "speaks" right then and there (although later found out it's $4.95 on itunes but whatever). definitely a band to watch. listen to Sandwiches on youtube and Work This City (Yes Giantess Remix) on last.fm so so good.
The second opener was Wild Nothing. Although they were really hot and charming when we chatted after, i thought their music was only ok. I'd never heard them before so it was hard for me to get into them but apparently that weekend they opened for the morning benders and they seemed well connected on stage so i'll buy a couple of things on itunes and give them another chance.
Neon indian is the brainchild of Alan Polomo, who composes all the music. Live, he performs with Ronnie Gierhart, Leanne Macomber, and Jason Faries. From where i was standing i could barely see Leanne over Alan so there really are no shots of her unfortunately. The performance was awesome. I saw them at bonnaroo but i had been completely unable to see the stage so i didn't get the full effect. They played all of Psychic Chasms plus the new single, sleep paralysist, plus, according to my friend, something from Alan's other project, Vega. Sounds like i have some more research to do, huh. They had good lights and neon trippy visuals. Alan and Ronnie were so close at times i could've touched them but decided not to be a total creeper lol. the crowd was good too apparently the show was sold out and every time we wanted to pee or smoke it was almost impossible to get back to the front. Neon indian certainly have done a lot in less than a year. it's worth mentioning that unlike pretty much every other artist/band i've seen live, neon indian played through every transition as if they were flexing their wings between flights. i liked the vibe that gave, like the band members were feeding off each other.
I met a girl there who had hung out with them after a show once before so with her encouragement, we stationed ourselves near the t-shirt/music vendors in the lobby. Sure enough, Ronnie and Leanne came out and chatted with us. They're mad chill. Ronnie signed my t-shirt so now it says "should have taken acid with you ronnie" haha. Neither Ronnie nor Leanne could reveal when their sophomore album may be coming out.
All in all i came away from that show feeling awesome and would totally see them again live and hopefully hang out with them again.
ditto body language who are actually playing july 1 with toro y moi at glasslands gallery and july 31 at mercury lounge. see you there
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