Friday 15 May 2009

Crystal Castles


So there's been a lot of hype going around town about this troublesome duo but for once, it is well deserved. Their self-titled debut album was released only a couple of months ago and the two have been smashing it up on a global scheme.

Last night they played a chaotic set for the Topman NME Noise Tour, and my expectations were very VERY high. First up was Team Waterpolo, a band I had never heard of before said night; nevertheless I am pleased to say that these guys are actually very good, then Friendly Fires jumped on stage with their bounty of maracas and cow bells. The Rapture was written all over their shit. But there was the occasional whiff of talent and the lead singer's sporadic epileptic spells totally made my pre-crystal castle night. That's talent at its best. He was like a bendy Gumby doll, shakin' any extended limb to the rhythm. Priceless video pending...

Then FINALLY, after much anticipation, nervous twitching and rearranging of my high -waisted shorts.. Alice walked on stage.

I should mention that the two had arrived much earlier than their set time, and the 8-bit game card kids did indeed walk past us. Alice was donning the usual grubby white converse sneakers and even grubbier set of knobbly knees and her older side-kick looked like he’d just left the photo shoot for their album cover. I swear he was wearing the same purple hoodie and leather jacket.

The temptation to reach out and express my love for the two, especially Miss Glass was more than great, however, the fear that her reply would be something along the lines of ‘fuck off’ totally over-rode any psycho-fan urge. Strangely enough, the fear the 'bean pole with the choppy crop' evokes within me, makes me respect her even more...

So they kicked it off. And it was good. But it wasn't that good. And I was disappointed. Very disappointed. But I had great hope and as I pointed my camera and frantically clicked away, struggling with the timing between ultra strobe light brightness to cave-man darkness, I slowly became disheartened. But the photos are unbelievable.

Yes, Alice is an amazing performer whose seeming apathy for herself and her bodily safety drips off her sweaty palms. [Props to her considering, it was less than 3 months ago that she was involved in a car crash that resulted in a broken rib-cage].

I thoroughly enjoyed her leap-frog jumping from stage to crowd, crowd to stage, then lying on the floor - as if she were recovering from a VERY heavy session of body slamming and exorcist behaviour. At the same time I would have forgone being witness to her Spiderman abilities if it meant a greater performance vocally and musically.



The Astoria 2 is not a massive place, which is why I was surprised that the sound, once it left whatever musical peripheral it came out of, seemed almost empty and fizzled the second it escaped from its respective device.

Overall, there was something missing.. granted I was not part of the swaying, jumping, thumping crowd whose need for personal space was nil, instead I was watching from above and maybe, for the 8-bit game kids sake, this was the reason for their 'seemingly' disappointing performance.


Rating: Disappointing

Currently listening to: Crystal Castles debut album


*Note:

These guys were gracing boom-boxes world wide, centuries before the tactile plastic CD compilation was released, but it's nice to finally have it all in one place.

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I am more than prone to monologues; however, this is solely due to the manner in which they compliment a witty anecdote and their ability to resemble concrete evidence when it is so obviously lacking. I often wish I could emulate that aloof character who coolly stands in the corner smiling mysteriously as if she has a secret. However, I fear resisting the temptation to involve myself in other people’s conflicts and responding through body language rather than verbose banter may come across as contrived and arrogant. And, I am not willing to take that chance.

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