Kevin Bronson on April 16th, 2011

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Who: The Drums on the Mojave Stage
In 3 or Fewer Words: Bow Wow Meh
I’ll Remember This Until: I see the real deal – Duran Duran – on Sunday. Self-consciously pitched somewhere between David Bowie’s New Romantic era and mid-period Moz, and gauzed in layer after layer of camp, the Drums’ afternoon set was an almost charmingly awkward mélange of pastel’d New Wave crossbred with the nervy, caffeinated jitter of modern indie. A spectacle that bordered neighboring countries of Homage and (self?) Parody, the performance found the band conjuring up song after song of sugar-rushed and eye-linered pop in songs like the stuttered palpitations of “Best Friend” and the swooning crowd singalong, “Let’s Go Surfing,” an admirable feat almost totally ignored due to the mannered, distracting theatrics of frontman Jonathan Pierce, whose lank-armed preen played like a B-side version of an adolescent Morrissey. In an act that high-wired between goofy performance art and accidental sabotage, Pierce’s theatrics made it almost impossible to pay attention to the solid tunes of post-punk revivalism – and whether Moz shadow play succeeded or simply fell off into a pile of warped Adam and the Ants records is probably a matter of personal preference.
What I’d Tell My Friends Who Were Watching Odd Future: At least you know your frontman’s jackassery was on purpose.
– Travis Woods
Photo by Scott Dudelson