Hooded Fang (Santa Guerrilla / Doldrums)
The Drake Underground. Thursday, December 9, 2010.
Sometimes the smaller details can be the most telling. As advocates of a hands-on DIY approach to art, it wasn't too surprising to note that the ticket for Hooded Fang's album release show wasn't your standard ducat. Instead, the band had used old baseball cards1, with an attached sticker giving the usual details. Clearly, the band was making an effort to create a special night.
That impression would be bolstered on seeing the elaborate stage backdrop the band had put together, playing further on the album's Honest Ed's-styled Doug Kerr artwork and adding several figures by graffiti artist Elicser. As the room filled up, the DJ's pumped out a mix of 90's vintage boom-bap. I smiled to myself — how often do I hear a hip-hop mix where I know all the songs? All told, it was a livelier vibe than the last time I had seen Hooded Fang in these digs.
There was an interesting line-up for the show, too. Rather than worrying about finding bands with a complementary sound, the openers were kindred DIY spirits. And, more directly, one could trace the origins of this bill back to the DAPS All Ages shows that HF members April Aliermo and Daniel Lee have been putting together, where both openers had previously appeared.
The first of those was Airick Woodhead's Doldrums project, a swirling one-man mix of knob-twisting experimental pop. Having crossed paths with Doldrums a few times already, I sort of knew what to expect — but also figured that this set would run counter to my expectations, as Woodhead's vision tends to become subject to new tangents every time it seems to be coming into focus. Here, as he took the stage, I wasn't sure when the looped and layered vocals — the main ingredient in the mix here — actually coalesced into a "song". And once it did, it was hard to tell where one thing ended and the next began, with a constantly morphing sonic backdrop that would segue from one vibe to the next. Whispy layers of gauzy vox would suddenly give way to beatz and zworping synths.
I have no doubt that this chopped-pop is a little bit self-indulgent, and certainly some of the "songs" didn't quite gel. And on this night, Woodhead seemed a bit more interested the slo-jamz, which can be less engaging than some his more animated stuff. But having seen this develop over the course of the year, I'm stuck with the notion that there is a vision behind it all. There are a few places where it doesn't quite work, but I think of Woodhead as aiming for a higher slugging percentage instead of a safe batting average.
Though Woodhead's hazy pop deconstructions were received with polite-but-restrained applause, there was at least the sense that it was on the same general wavelength of the crowd at hand. That wasn't as much the case for Santa Guerrilla, whose ultimate sonic destination is a hip-hop informed funky flow, even if it gets there by less-familiar means. The most immediately striking thing about the band is their use of kulintang gongs, native to the Philippines.2 Most of the eight members rotated around, taking on different percussive roles to go along with the drums and Alexander The (also of Times Neue Roman) on keyb.
His gear was a bit balky at the start of the set, and while he tested his connections, the rest of the band to eased into the set, vamping until it got fixed. Better than just standing around staring at the crowd, but it was less attention-grabbing than a bold, kick-ass opening would have been. That gave the semi-curious in the crowd a bit more licence to lose focus, and it never really felt like the band "had" the room as much as they could have.
That said, once they got rolling, I was enjoying this a lot. Although the music all comes from one place, they're exploring a nice range within it, from some more atmospheric stuff to tasty pop. Plus, the quick set ended with "Ang Musica", which remains pretty damn fantastic. Perhaps because it was at a bit of an angle to Hooded Fang's more straight-ahead fare, some of the crowd seemed unsure of how to take this, but I remain convinced that this crew are really on to something.3
Listen to a track from this set here.
Hooded Fang's music has its share of intriguing tensions — not only between the restrained nature of the lead vocals from Daniel Lee (and sometimes Lorna Wright) and the bouncy rhythms of the music, but also in how the lyrics are often far less sunny than the upbeat musical settings would suggest. But of course, with the immediate appeal to sing along and/or dance, you never have to think about any of this. And on this night, the band was doing all the could to bolster their zazz, with all seven members wearing silver trim. And in addition to their striking stage decoration (which could have passed as a backdrop for one of the musical theatre productions that member Nick Hune writes tunes for) there were also 8mm projections by Craig Orrett.
Lots going on for an enthusiastic, hooting crowd out to celebrate the album. Unfortunately, it was also a rather yappy crowd as well, but the chatterers couldn't overpower the songs, starting with "Laughing". The band was busily celebrating the album, but also dipped back to their debut EP for the catchy "Circles n Blocks".
There were extra strings from Mika Posen (of Timber Timbre) and Anissa Hart (of Ohbijou) for an excellent "Mutant Bear", which was a slow-dance partner with "The Pageant". That was a mid-set breather before things got even more extravagent. During an extended "Green River" three space aliens in funky toxic waste suits appeared at the back of the room to bust some moves. They shimmied up through the crowd, tossing glitter along the way, to make their way up to the stage. As the song ended, one crowd-surfed back to the far end of the room. Quite the spectacle!
The band closed out the main set with "Love Song", but quickly returned for an encore, playing the newer "Almost Done" before going out with a couple of their oldest songs ("Land of Giants" and "Fall Leaves"). On the home stretch the band got pretty loose and celebratory, going out with a big clapalong. That would make for an hour-long set, consisting of almost everything in the band's catalogue — and indeed, the whole of the album save one song would get an airing.
So a good night all around, and a worthy celebration to send Hooded Fang's Album into the world.
Listen to a track from this set here.
1 My ticket was a '91 Craig Grebeck card. Though best remembered in these parts as a respectable utility infielder with the late '90's Blue Jays, on the card the youthful Grebek, in White Sox duds, seems to be looking forward to a bright future, on the cusp of a rookie season where he'd put up a 136 OPS+ in part-time action.
2 I was amused to note that the large gongs were hanging from what was, in fact, a portable coat rack — a tidy home-made solution to the problem of getting them on and off the stage expeditiously.
3 For those that would like to investigate further, the band now has a mixtape for sale in their bandcamp page.
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