Pictureplane, Javelin, oOoOO Live Show Review

The Pictureplane tour stop in Los Angeles saw him as an addition to Check Yo Ponytail 2, a recurring Tuesday night coalition of IHEARTCOMIX and The Echoplex. Word on the street was that UK’s Holy Other had to drop from the bill due to illness — or so Holy Other’s new remix of Walls’ “Sunporch” suggested (he claimed he had made iit while recouping in bed). But regardless of the lineup changes, the famed residency is known for breaking up-and-coming dance and electronic artists, and what followed this evening surely lived up to its upscale dance party reputation.

The Echoplex
Los Angeles, CA
2011 – 08/16

Listen to “Real Is A Feeling” – DOWNLOAD MP3

oOoOO & Javelin

If you really think about it, The Echoplex is the perfect place for Pictureplane (Travis Egedy) to bring his dark dance pop to life. Its exterior is grimy and worn down — you have to pass under a bridge to get to it — and it’s located in a stretch of town that can be pretty unforgiving, if it so desires. Likewise, these qualities are not unlike the crusty-goth persona that Egedy tries to purvey through his music and nostalgic fashion. As headliner, Pictureplane was by far the darkest of any of the musicians playing that night, making the warm-up acts seem like revealing lights. San Francisco’s oOoOO (meant to be pronounced “oh”), pared eclectic downtempo sounds with sultry female vocals and occasional hip-hop applications. And Javelin’s set proved their ongoing versatility to play with everyone from Big Freedia to Pictureplane — all acts with a very different take on dance and electronic music than the band’s funk-soaked electro.

Pictureplane

Lastly, it was time for Egedy to take the stage, and the night took a turn for his breathy post-industrial love ditties. A product of the emerging dance scene in Denver — yes, that is what I said — Egedy’s live show is unlike that of his contemporaries, but not just because it was birthed from many sweaty warehouse raves sponsored by him. Egedy’s sound of antiquated synths and dated female vocal samples breaks from the norm of electronic performance style in that he contributes and processes and mixes a lot of the vocals live. Rather than huddling over his equipment the entire time, he stands remarkably straight, wearing expelling airy croons and subdued sweet talk. Egedy also unveiled a special treat, as the night’s rendition of “Body Mods” featured Yasmine Kittles of the band Tearist on vocals.

Overall, the night’s variety of mixed electronic styles worked well, and Egedy’s set was a darker, love-sick portrait of adolescents in the ’80s that people don’t hesitate to dance to.