This past Thursday at the High Noon Saloon was one part concert, two parts dance party.
The night started off with Rivergazer, the moniker for Porches' guitarist Kevin Farrant, who, along with a bassist, played an upbeat, danceable set of electronic tunes, autotune galore. Although few people had yet arrived for the show, the small crowd moved to the beat. The scene was set perfectly for Japanese Breakfast. I don't think anyone was completely ready for the energy the group brought to the stage. Right from the opening “Everybody Wants to Love You”, everybody was dancing and front woman Michelle Zauner was moving around like crazy. She continued full force, and even played a great cover of The Cranberries' “Dreams”, the perfect choice to get everyone going.
I've had the pleasure of already seeing Porches twice this past year, and both times I was enthralled by the performance. Aaron Maine's brooding, dead pan humor and bizarre stage antics are impossible to look away from. This show, however, was completely different. The group was really tame on stage, dancing and having fun, but without so much of the strangeness that I normally characterize the band by. I'm not at all saying this as a negative comment though, because this show also rocked. Porches got up on stage and played the hell out of their music. The crowd was wild – everyone danced the entire set. This performance seemed more a la Pool, while their on stage demeanor is normally more in tune to the sound of Slow Dance in the Cosmos. The group also notably covered “Walk” by Alex G, who they had previously performed with in April at the Union South Sett. It's cool to hear friendly groups of bands play each other's music.
The bottom line is that no matter which Porches shows up, this band is great live. They've got a magnetizing energy that is really versatile, fitting with whatever type of show they play. Along with Rivergazer and Japanese Breakfast, this is one of the most fun shows I've seen this year. Hopefully they'll all come back around soon!”
