Photos by Philip Cosores
It wouldn’t be unreasonable to look at the poster for a night like Check Yo Ponytail 2 – a monthly club/gig night at Los Angeles’ Echoplex – and dismiss it for being too “hip” or “scene.” Just look at that name, and the posters they have; it seems tailor made for people who want to show that they’re cool. But, thankfully everyone isn’t that cynical and further reflection upon the poster will make you realize that hey, this looks like a really good time. And that is exactly what Check Yo Ponytail 2 excels in: creating an event that is not too serious and good fun for everyone that attends, whether they are familiar with the acts or not.
The latest edition of Check Yo Ponytail 2 featured a host of artists that are currently mining the bedroom electronica pop aesthetic. Soft Metals, touring behind their debut album which came out on Captured Tracks last year, seemed to be in a state of complete bliss as they performed, which perfectly matched their brand of blissed-out music. The set started with a more ambient feel to the sound, with both Ian Hicks and Patricia Hall looking relaxed as they performed. Over the course of the set it became much more of a dance vibe, especially as the crowd became more active, and Hall reciprocated by dancing more and whipping her hair around at the most intense moments. She also seemed to let loose with her vocals which could range anywhere from angelic to ominous, fitting nicely with the music. By her side her partner looked much more studious in his work, manipulating his trio of synths just so to make the sound just right. The set had been delayed by technical difficulties, but by the time Soft Metals had completed their performance that had been completely forgiven.
Teengirl Fantasy followed Soft Metals on stage and set about business immediately. Like the previous act, they also started with a simpler, more ambient style, but they took their time about developing it, letting the various elements move in slowly and naturally over the course of their set. Previewing a whole host of new material, Teengirl Fantasy went through several different phases, at one point adding keyboards and synthesized tambourine for a 90s Balearic throwback style. Next they added vocals from Logan Takahashi, which were surprisingly passionate, before adding samples and use of a drum pad to the mix.
Over the course of their set Teengirl Fantasy seemed to be giving us a potted history of dance music, and judging by the complexity and intensity of the final portion of their set, they may have even given us a glimpse of the future, too. With everyone at rapt attention, Nick Weiss led the crowd in dancing, like a maestro guiding the crowd with his body movement, showing just how much his music meant to him. He had been pumped up through the whole set, but by the end it seemed that everyone in the audience was just as excited to hear Teengirl Fantasy’s new material as they were to play it. Throughout the set they had a smiley face plastered on the background, which might have been some kind of subtle hint at what kind of substances they recommend to take while experiencing a Teengirl Fantasy show, but whether or not people had indulged in such a thing didn’t matter, everybody would have been reflecting that smiley face by the time the duo finished their set.
The final performance of the night came from Com Truise, whose latest offering Galactic Melt has been receiving a lot of blog hype, and it seemed like the majority of the audience in attendance on this occasion were already fans and had come down to check him out. With the help of a live drummer, Com Truise literally reconstructed audibly what you might picture the phrase ‘galactic melt’ to sound like. Using oozing, slow bass that filled the room we got the ‘melt’ part, and the ‘galactic’ part came in the form of all the dated space age, “futuristic” sounds that were layered on top. It would be easy to criticize Com Truise’s music and performance for sounding antiquated, or even cheesy, but with a background made to look like an 80s video game, and style of music so appealing despite its obvious pitfalls, you can’t help but buy into the Com Truise show, and that’s exactly what everyone in attendance found.
Reflecting back on last night’s show it seems to me that at this point in time putting all three of these artists on the same bill makes a lot of sense; they’re all based in the same kind of electronic sound. But, based on the evidence on show last night, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to me to think that by the time each of these artists brings out another album they could all be in quite different spheres from each other; the creativity and innovation on show certainly hinted that that was a possibility. It was just one more thing to ponder and enjoy for all the music fans in the audience.
