Yes, it was a Halloween double feature, with Brooklyn's Dirty Projectors playing two sets: a 7:00 show for trick-or-treaters and a 9:30 show for those more interested in late night masquerade.
The Projectors showed up on time and in costume, lead singer Dave Longstreth wearing a giant foam cowboy hat. He was joined on stage by Joan of Arc and an Amish wife (vocalists Angel Deradoorian and Amber Coffman, respectively). Drummer Brian McComber, in a Marilyn Monroe wig and a box of Angel Hair strapped to his chest, was dressed as Sexy Pasta.
That the Projectors were every bit as practiced and professional in ridiculous costumes wasn't much of a surprise. That both shows were recorded for an upcoming live disc (Bitte Orca acoustic sessions, according to the two audio techs to stage right) was—and might be news. Here's hoping they can fix the terrible hum caused by the Jensen's lighting system, which was wired to the same power source as the stage microphones.
It’s been only days and already I want to relive the bravado attempted by the Projectors in their song "Useful Chamber." In terms of music that shouldn’t have worked as well as it did, the acoustic rendition was on-par with MTV’s legendary Nirvana Unplugged.
The show’s opening band Little Wings, went the opposite direction, with frontman Kyle Field turning the soft strummers from his records into live electric wonders. Years-old material was given new life by this change, and made me wish the recording engineers left some hard drive space to capture the adaptation.
Still, it was the Dirty Projectors that made the evening memorable. Amber Coffman's polished scream on "Stillness Is The Move" was just so loud and just so organized—an impossible balance that defines the band’s canon. "Temecula Sunrise" was radiant, and then there was that acoustic version of "Useful Chamber." For once, you didn't have to be there – just wait for the recording. What a treat.
Originally in Los Angeles Magazine
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