Deerhoof, Flying, and Experimental Dental School @ Irving Plaza (CMJ), NYC - pics

Flying...

Brooklyn's Flying (who are also opening for Deerhoof on tour) are three artist kids who make a lot of things: their own videos, their own costumes for their videos, their own artwork, and their own off-center pop songs. Lately they've incorporated other artists into their video and artwork making, but onstage they're still something of a small island, tiny voices singing fractured lullabies. Drummer/singer Sara Magenheimer paused near the end of Flying's set to make a confession. "I'm really blown away being here," she said, "I used to be really afraid of being on stage." The 200 or so early birds at the Fillmore applauded loudly-- they seemed to be the type that accepted flaws and fragility as positives. You know, Deerhoof fans. Deerhoof's Greg Saunier joined them for "Minors", turning an already-joyful song into a frantic, exultant jam. You know, like Deerhoof. [Jessica Suarez]

"Experimental Dental School sounds neither as painful nor as comical as its name suggests. From Oakland, Calif., by way of Portland, Ore., this likably convulsive indie-rock band presently consists of just two members: Shoko Horikawa, on drums, and Jesse Hall, on guitar. They both sing, in a decidedly unstudied fashion, and revel in such things as woozy contrasts, sudden tempo shifts and surprisingly gnarly riffs." [Nate Chinen]

There is no doubt that Deerhoof's genre defying/defining sound has earned them a large, loyal and every growing fan base who by the time the band took the sage had crowed onto the floor of Irving Plaza. The stage layout was very sparse with guitarists John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez opting for small combo amps placed far behind them and drummer Greg Saunier hunched over his minimal kit placed at the edge of the stage. Bassist Satomi Matsuzaki began quietly singing then she started presenting little traffic cop gestures and bunny hops as her band mates broke into a high energy sprint. After doing some bunny hops of our own we left fully satisfied having had at least as much as the band did on stage. [Subterranean]