DEERHOOF + DUBAIS – CONCORDE 2, BRIGHTON 30.8.23
American four-piece Deerhoof have been on a continuing mission to explore the more avant-garde and outré regions of the indie spectrum since forming back in the mid 1990s. They have amassed an impressive catalogue of nineteen albums since then, of which ‘Miracle-Level’, released in March this year, is surprisingly the first to be recorded in a studio with a producer. The album is also notable for the lyrics being entirely in Japanese, the mother tongue of vocalist and bassist Satomi Matsuzaki.
The band has a fairly traditional lineup of two guitars, bass and drums, but their music is genre-defyingly eclectic, bursting with ideas, and rhythmically complex. Experimental and progressive artists can sometimes be a challenging listen, but Deerhoof possess a charm and a chemistry between the players that makes their sound accessible in a way that’s almost magical. I suspect we’re in for a treat tonight, as their tour reaches Brighton’s Concorde 2 for a show promoted by Love Thy Neighbour.
I arrive shortly after opening and secure a place on the crash barrier at the front. An interesting slideshow of old watercolours of flora and fauna is being projected onto the back of the stage, accompanied by an extremely varied selection of recorded music that you wouldn’t normally hear juxtaposed. There’s classical, swing, mambo, rap and hardcore in quick succession, and it’s strangely enjoyable. The stage is clearly set for Deerhoof, with Greg Saunier’s signature minimalist drum kit house right, at the front of the stage. This rather suggests that the advertised support act, Sniffany and the Nits, won’t be playing tonight.
Indeed, support tonight comes instead from Dubais, the music project of artist, musician, and cultural activist Nadia Buyse. Singing to backing tracks is my least favourite mode of musical performance, but there’s a strong visual element here and an obvious sense of fun, as she takes the stage covered in a white sheet Halloween ghost costume. Where are Scooby-Doo and the gang when you need them? The opening number ‘Nobody’ is introduced as a Keith Sweat cover, and it’s a slow piece with a swelling synth accompaniment. The sheet is discarded to reveal it was Nadia all along, sporting a bright polka dot top and a shock of bleached hair. The next track is more upbeat, with a synth snare figure that reminds me of The Flying Lizards’ cover of ‘Money’, The artist is running-on-the-spot and dancing out on the bass bins. The lyrics are catchily impressive: “I don’t want to be an American imperialist, I don’t want to be a cultural tourist”.
The third song, with a lyrical motif of ‘Was It Something I Said?’, is apparently “brand spanking new”, and has a pleasantly melodic backing. There’s what I imagine to be a synthesised sax, though it actually sounds more like a Stylophone (remember them?). Nadia’s voice is powerful, with an impressive range, over the lush string sounds of ‘Looks Good’.
After a quick change of outfit, she’s teasing us that the next song is about a “chain-smoking turtle”. Sadly, it isn’t, being instead the more downbeat ‘Bad Situation’. Sampled seagulls appropriately introduce ‘Low Tide’, which we’re told is about a favourite beach pastime: “smoking pot”. The dreamy accompaniment sounds rather like it’s based on the “Bossa Nova” setting on an old Bontempi home organ. The closing number is vibey, with twanging recorded guitars and a rather striking lyric: “I live rent-free and legally high, inside a prison of my own mind.” There’s warm applause at the end, and a pleasing circularity as the artist dons the ghost costume to exit the stage. Much as I’d rather see a band playing, I couldn’t help but be impressed by the songwriting, vocal prowess, and mischievous sense of fun shown by Dubais.
The slideshow of botanical watercolours is back, whilst final preparations are made for the headliners, and Circle Jerks are blasting through the PA. As if that wasn’t surreal enough, the room has filled nicely, and most of the crowd are wearing those blue paper gauze surgical masks that were the must-have accessory for 2020. We’re told one of the band has an underlying health condition, so it’s a sensible precaution that we’re happy to comply with, but it sure looks freaky.
There’s warm applause and a lot of love as Deerhoof take the stage, then a brief moment of hushed anticipation before the band launches into ‘Jet-Black Double Shield’, an instrumental from the current album. Stabs of jazzy chords lead into soaring guitar and a build of thunderous drum rolls. House left, at the front of stage, Satomi is wearing a bright green frock and digging into a distinctive Serek bass with a natural finish. House right is the tall figure of Greg Saunier, seated awkwardly at a tiny kit of bass, snare, hi-hat, one tom and one cymbal. He is an awesome talent, with the immense variety of his fills generated by the sticks rather than the range of drums to hit. Centre stage, and further back, are the twin guitars of John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez, whose breathtakingly nimble riffs frequently overlap and intertwine. John plays a blue Harmony semi-acoustic, whilst Ed’s instrument is a headless Steinberger-style travel guitar. His flowing locks cascade over a colourful shirt with flamboyant Flamenco-style puff sleeves. John, by contrast, is clad in grey.
For ‘Dummy Discards A Heart’, Satomi’s vocals float ethereally over stops punctuated with busy drums. Her voice is more like an additional instrument than a vehicle to deliver lyrics, and to my ears it wouldn’t make a whole lot of difference what language was being sung. The prog-style dual guitar riffs seem to chime deeply with some sort of primal level of consciousness, and the overall effect truly is magical. I’m utterly transported, then back in the room to marvel at Satomi’s impressively energetic dancing, with little scissor jumps and high leg kicks.
The numbers are busy and full of ideas, moving through distinct phases of loud and quiet. The chunky chords of ‘I Will Spite Survive’ give way to more soaring lead and tumbling drum fills of astonishingly quick triplets. There’s an African hi-energy feel to ‘Scarcity Is Manufactured’, with bright and bubbling arpeggios cascading over an angular rhythm embellished with clattering on the drum rims.
The tiny kit has not been coping well with the ferocity of the master sticksman’s assault, its few components doing their best to escape in all different directions. Greg comes over to address the crowd through the single vocal mic. He is way taller than Satomi, and has to hunch over, whilst regaling us with a rambling but endearing digression about a plastic accessory’s abject failure to stop the bass drum leg creeping across the stage.
Back to business, ‘Fresh Born’ is bursting with stops, stabs and pushes, contrasting with the gentle opening of ‘L’Amour Stories’. Needless to say, it soon gets busier, with a dreamy vocal line wafting above.
Greg is back addressing the crowd, thanking Dubais for stepping in to support at the last minute. He can’t resist cracking a joke: “As a drummer, it’s hard to go on after that drummer, I admit. The precision…” This raises a chuckle. He’s also effusive about the venue actually having lasers, and invites us to admire the lights during the next number, a covers medley that opens with the theme from ‘Knight Rider’. It looks and sounds brilliant, superbly executed, with the dancing beams of coloured light enhancing the impression of a 1980s-style future. The piece is a medley, and somehow manages to morph into Eddie Grant’s ‘Electric Avenue’.
There’s an angular feel to ‘Plant Thief’, hooks weaving over a complex rhythm and jolting bursts of noise guitar. The splendidly titled ‘Be Unbarred, O Ye Gates of Hell’ starts with a cute singsong lilt to the vocal, and quickly becomes busier and heavier. I’m really enjoying the variety of otherworldly sounds the players are coaxing from the guitar effects.
The contrast between the spoken intro of ‘This Magnificent Bird Will Rise’ and the adjacent torrent of drums and guitars is particularly effective. Satomi gets an excellent bass throb going at one point. John is playing with a slide, so far up the neck he is over the pick ups. ‘No One Asked To Dance’ starts with beautifully oscillating chords and flurries of Spanish-sounding lead.
Satomi is firing off the leg kicks again in ‘Twin Killers’, which packs in some delightfully catchy vocal hooks and guitar lines. There’s a bit of a swap around for ‘Debut’, with John taking over on bass, freeing up Satomi to dance and sing, whilst the guitar and drums get properly funky. At the end of the piece, Greg gets up to express his appreciation for a fan’s T-shirt from that album’s tour. The house lights helpfully go up to illustrate the point.
The wonderful sounds keep on coming. The contrast between the delicate vocal of ‘Milk Man’ and bursts of heavy instrumentation works brilliantly. John’s guitar slide is back for ‘Sit Down, Let Me Tell You A Story’, way up the strings, giving little excited squawks of lead. Not to be outdone, Ed also utilises slide for the main motif of the excellent ‘My Lovely Cat’ from the recent album. We move into full-on prog territory for ‘Momentary Art of Soul!’, with a complex dual guitar riff ringing out over shuffling snare.
Greg’s back at the mic, wondering if the photographers are still around. He’s concerned the the traditional first-three-songs shots will show the band looking too fresh and dry, so invites them back to capture the late-set sweat of honest toil. The final number, ‘Damaged Eyes Squinting Into The Beautiful Overhot Sun’ culminates in an extended playout of spectacularly weird noise, and the crowd are vociferous in their appreciation at the end.
There are encores, of course. We get three numbers, though I’ve stopped concentrating to film a bit, dance a bit, and to wallow in the sheer gorgeousness of it all. It’s been a wonderful evening. I’m not the most critical of music critics, tending to like most things I see, but I think I’ve found the band I should have been saving all those superlatives for. If you like the sound of Deerhoof and you’re not already familiar, I strongly recommend you investigate their extensive back catalogue.
Deerhoof:
Satomi Matsuzaki – vocals, bass
Greg Saunier – drums
John Dieterich – guitar
Ed Rodriguez – guitar
Deerhoof setlist:
‘Jet-Black Double Shield’ (from ‘Miracle-Level’ 2023)
‘Dummy Discards A Heart’ (from ‘Apple O’ 2003)
‘I Will Spite Survive’ (from ‘Mountain Moves’ 2017)
‘Scarcity Is Manufactured’ (from ‘Actually, You Can’ 2021)
‘Fresh Born’ (from ‘Offend Maggie’ 2008)
‘L’Amour Stories’ (from ‘Apple O’ 2003)
‘Love-Lore 2’ (covers medley – from ‘Love-Lore’ 2020)
‘Plant Thief’ (from ‘Actually, You Can’ 2021)
‘Be Unbarred, O Ye Gates of Hell’ (from ‘Actually, You Can’ 2021)
‘This Magnificent Bird Will Rise’ (from ‘Reveille’ 2002)
‘No One Asked To Dance’ (from ‘Deerhoof vs. Evil’ 2011)
‘Twin Killers’ (from ‘The Runners Four’ 2005)
‘Debut’ (from ‘The Magic’ 2016)
‘Milk Man’ (from ‘Milk Man’ 2004)
‘Sit Down, Let Me Tell You A Story’ (from ‘Miracle-Level’ 2023)
‘My Lovely Cat’ (from ‘Miracle-Level’ 2023)
‘Momentary Art of Soul!’ (from ‘Miracle-Level’ 2023)
‘Damaged Eyes Squinting Into The Beautiful Overhot Sun’ (from ‘Future Teenage Cave Artists’ 2020)
(encore)
‘My Purple Past’ (from ‘Offend Maggie’ 2008)
‘Black Pitch’ (from ‘La Isla Bonita’ 2014)
‘Paradise Girls’ (from ‘La Isla Bonita’ 2014)
