By: Zosia Blue
The Kitty Kat Klub is the ornate chameleon of Dinkytown. One night, the Victorian chairs and funky tables will be pushed to the sides and hordes of 20somethings will be dancing sweatily to Summer of ’69. The next, the back half of the club will be velvet-roped and reserved, overflowing with a conservative crowd in suits and expensive hats.
The latter was exactly the vibe last Friday night. There was barely a place to sit. It was a quiet, modest crowd, with blondes drinking apple martinis at back tables. I felt a little out-of-place in my ironic t-shirt and swoopy bangs, but even with the bizarre cocktail party atmosphere, the bands managed a terrific show.
I missed the first opener, acoustic guitarist Chris Smalley, but I was just in time for Tarlton, the new project from superdrummer Brett Bullion (formerly of Tiki Obmar) and bassist Chris Morrissey (Cowboy Curtis, Mason Jennings). The duo produced an edgy, electric sound, carried by Morrissey’s famous orgasmic facial expressions, which have elevated in drama since I last saw him years ago in Cowboy Curtis. He’s an all-limbs-out, dance-like-no-one-is-watching performer, who manages to simultaneously not overdo anything or steal the show.
With hints of Aphex Twin and DJ Shadow, Tarlton would almost be heard playing over the loudspeaker of a glowstick club, but the time signatures are so oddly twisted that dancing wouldn’t be the first thing to come to mind. They’re too interesting to survive just as background music, so I sat at the bar, nodding my head in time to the beat and trying to word a classification. My friend labeled them “sex music,” and while, granted, the music did have a sexy, red-light sound, I’m not exactly sure what genre to put them in. I think this is a fantastic indication of their creativity – I’d see them again, if just to solve the mystery of what makes them so engaging.
The Few Nice Words gathered at 11:30 to a hushed, but appreciative crowd. TFNW is another band made up of Minneapolis All-Stars, with Ev Olcott (Halloween, Alaska) at the keys, Bret Buillion (Tarlton) at the drums, Bill Mike (Bill Mike Trio) on the floor in front of the stage with a steel-lap guitar, Bill Shaw of the former 12 Rods on bass and Matthew Foust (Love-cars) as the shy frontman. There’s bits of all their combined projects in the sound – the slick moodiness of Halloween, Alaska; the poppy hooks of Love-cars; the precise, clean drumming of Tarlton, and the understated enthusiasm of the Bill Mike Trio.
Steve McPherson, in a previous review, christened the band as “pop for the anti-pop,” and I see why – the synth and mellow, sleepy verses have a mood-music feel to them, the type of band you’d listen to while leaning out of your apartment window on a stormy day, sneaking a smoke. The choruses, however, are wall-of-sound rock, shaking the audience out of lullaby-hypnosis. I was happy this element existed – so few bands on the local scene lately have mastered this type of artistic build-up. Matthew Foust’s songs go somewhere – it’s not emotional manipulation, per se, but it’s smart rock -- the songs know themselves well enough to direct you through them. Given the experience of all the musicians on stage, The Few Nice Words was a joy to watch. The only disappointment was how quiet Foust sang -- one had to strain to hear the vocal lines in the slower parts, but, at the same time, this added to the overall quiet turbulence of the tunes.
Location Info:
Kitty Cat Klub
Artist Info: Tarlton, The Few Nice Words
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