The Pike Room
Pontiac, MI
This post has been a long time coming.
All photos by Matthew Franklin, for Detour Magazine
Two weeks ago while I was at the Crofoot Ballroom and found out Champions of Breakfast were playing upstairs at the Pike Room. I had been reading so much about the zany electronic pop duo on the various Detroit blogs, and decided to check it out.
The evening also celebrated the release of a full length album, titled Pleasure Mountain. The artwork as well as the stage accessories (cardboard guitars, keyboard, as well as a giant cardboard computer) accompany the obnoxiously joyous performance perfectly.
To describe their set, just imagine two skinny dudes with shaggy hair, thick mustaches and tight, colorful clothes that I wouldn't be caught dead in. Now picture them dancing around like idiots, dramatically playing fake instruments (pretty much air guitaring), and sometimes singing, sometimes lip-syncing. They came with a gimmick and proved that if you pull off a shtick really well, it can be overlooked. They did it, and it was awesome.
As for the songs, they were blatantly upbeat, synthy, corny as hell. Which is the whole point, and to see the dudes do what they do live, I couldn't ask for a better soundtrack. Listening to the songs without the visuals might be a less entertaining challenge. "Unicorn Bible" is a total jam though.
Next up was Champaign, Illinois' Headlights. In spite of their label Polyvinyl's winding path into blandness, the band is an easy one to like. They play expansive indie pop like Stars, only much less dramatic. And better. The live sound consisted of boy/girl harmonies, Mates of State-ish keyboards, big, rich guitar tones, and the tight and simple drumming that the songs require. There were some really drunken douche bags in the crowd, which put only a slight damper on the set, but the band handled it well.
The Submarines closed the night out with a modern take on 60s pop/rock. To be honest, I don't pay attention to their entire set, but what I did hear sounded nice, though a little boring. Some more of those co-ed vocals, some twinkle here, a tiny bit of shoegaze there, and some painfully simple drumming by a dude who looked exactly like Josiah Wolf from Why?. A somber ending, especially when I realized I had to drive all the way back to Ann Arbor.
1 comment:
Quillen! This is surreal. I was told to download some of The Submarines' music, but before I did that I decided to read a few reviews. You popped up in my Google search! Coming from a close friend AND a well-respected musical background/snobbiness [that's a compliment, oh you-of-spectacular-musical-taste] I will now refrain from downloading their music after hearing you were indifferent. I will, however, be checking out the first group you named.
Woo!
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