About Last Night, Or: Why I Can't Stand Any Live Performance By Any Electronic Acts Not Called Zorch

I have born witness to several unexciting electronic acts this year that have led me to worry that all this new and ever-cheaper digital music equipment is utterly destroying the art of the live performance. Seeing a rapper whose DJ is literally just himself pushing play on his iPod --something I've seen countless times in the past year--is not only a tremendous beatdown, it also leads me to wonder why they don't save their audiences the uncomfortably of seeing them have to walk over to their personal audio devices to press 'pause' between each number by just going ahead and playing the real album versions and then saving their voices by doing performance art or interpretive dance --basically anything but the glorified karaoke they insist on thrusting upon hapless audiences.

After seeing Javelin "perform" at SXSW I swore to myself that I would never again go to see an electronic act again if I could help it. Because even a group with above-average recorded material, such as the Brooklyn duo, there is still not much that can be done to take their live performance to the next level --with most of the sounds being so complex the group invariably does have to rely on just using large portions of their prerecorded music. Even their drummer, who was hitting an MPC with drum sticks (to appear more authentic?) didn't do much to convince me that he was actually the one creating the complex rhythms and not just up their pantomiming.

On the other hand there are bands like Austin's own Zorch, who performed at the Doublewide this past Saturday. While they did still rely on the use of a laptop in their live performance, it was minimal at best. For the most part the duo were able to pull off an impressive barrage of experimental electronic music with a setup of synths, keyboards, pedals, real live drums, and even an electronic autoharp. Seriously. But what I found most refreshing about the wall of sound the duo created is that it was challenging, complex, and unique enough to entertain even the snobbiest music fans/critics while at the same time coming off accessible enough to precipitate loads of uncontrollable booty-shaking by the drunken sorority chick/dudebro set who happen to stumble into a venue where the duo are performing.

Most of all Zorch is able to enliven a stale genre that for too long was rubbing its head raw on the glass ceiling. And to think, they pulled off this feat without use of a single iPod. What a novel approach.

MP3: Zorch - Zute Alore!

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