Deerhoof @ Irving Plaza 1.26.07

New York was a cold place to be Friday night. The temperatures barely crept above the teens and the wind was howling fiercely, but that didn't stop a few hundred people from taking in the Deerhoof show at Irving Plaza. Over the past four years Deerhoof has gained a reputation for passionate, lively shows and tonight only served to reinforce that reputation.

Brooklyn based Proton Proton kicked off things with an energetic fourty minute set. Relying on heavy rythyms and their quirky front man, the band were engaging from the moment they jumped on stage and only gained momentum as the show went on and more fans took a liking to them. As the pace of the show seemed to quicken with each show more people began rocking out to their pounding rock sound. The band really took off with the song "Chinese Dancer" during which the singer ran around the whole stage and jumped back and forth between his guitar and a tiny kids piano.

The show didn't slow down from here as Busdriver took the stage with some awesome rapping. I was only familiar with Busdriver thanks to his work with Islands, but boy can he stand on his own as an artist. Mixing his flows between ridiculously fast, reggae tinged, and more straight forward rapping, Busdriver got the indie kids into thwoing their hands in the air and screaming along when they were prompted to do so. His DJ was a little heavy on the bass, but hey it got some of the kids dancing so what more could you really want?

Everyone seemed to genuinely enjoy the opening acts, but no one could hide their entusiasm for what was to come. Few bands are as passionate and energetic on the stage as Deerhoof. Satomi sings and bounces across the stage, John thrashes about on his guitar stomping on his effects pedals for added noise, and of course there is Greg on drums. Greg may just be the best drummer around right now, and he hits the skins with such ferocity that the entire set sees splinters and pieces of metal flying all about as pounds out each note. By the third song he had kicked a hole in his drum and spent the rest of the set playing the bass drum backwards. It didn't affect the set at all though as the band were as tight and loud as I have ever seen them. It was a thrill to get to see the new songs so soon after its release and the managed to nail tunes like "+81" and "Choco Fight". Its truly remarkable that a band of only three members can create such a huge wall of sound, but somehow Deerhoof pull it off. Following a 45-minute long set the band came out for a three song encore that was marvelous and even more energetic than the first part of their show, if that was even possible.

The entire show was simply amazing as the three bands there did their best to dispell the idea of what your typical indie show has become. There was no standing around with your arms crossed, it just wasn't possible with bands as infectious as these three. Deerhoof will be back next week for the PLUG Awards, and even though it will be a considerably shorter set you should seriously consider getting over there to see them.