Kicking off the night was none other than British electronic/comedy act Max Tundra. In my opinion Tundra is the perfect opening act. He infuses some quite serious beats (a splash of drum and bass, UK Garage, hip-hop, and a cracking Trance number) with the use of toy instruments, a jerking body and some comedic between-song banter. His real strength is in the use of synths, and when he matches all the elements together, you stop and are like ‘oh ok so this guy is actually a musician’. Not meaning to detract from him, but I personally think he should leave the singing for the bathroom – the songs stand up alone without the vocals.
The highlight, however, came when he stopped the audience to wish happy birthday to his ‘slightly older but better looking’ dad. At first I thought it was a Tundra joke, until the whole audience was in chorus and there was an older, slightly better looking gentleman just behind me, with a beaming uncontrollable smile. Nice!
Next up came the far more serious act, Daestro. The mood, beginning jovial soon changed when he announced “at CMJ we were announced the biggest disappointment, I hope we can do better for you this time”. I thought it just put a downer on the crowd immediately. He continued, “we have only been playing together a few weeks, because my band left me in September”. These two announcements almost made me feel sorry for him, and I knew I was going to see a tour exhausted performance not matching what he is capable of.
However, the newly formed pair (his roommate from back home) had a great energy together, and while the vocals could have been louder, I think they are doing a cracking job for just a few weeks. The Shaded Forest is clearly his best song for me – a bonus track on the CD Moondagger. The light descending melody on loop, combined with the energy ridden vocals of Daestro, makes for an extremely positive listening experience. While Biophelia, probably the headlining track of the night, has more downbeat vocals with lyrics such as ‘this has got to stop…I’m crying on her shoulder..come back to me, please stay with me’. It really matched the mood created with the opening speech and as his face crumpled with emotion, I felt connected to the rough ride he has been through over the past few weeks.
Daestro finished with the words, ‘I’m sorry I just can’t do anymore songs’, and unusual to a NY crowd, the screams for an encore soon subsided fairly quickly as we all realised this guy just needs a break. I did enjoy the show, but I am anticipating his return to top form – I felt like I only got a taste of his brilliance. However do not worry; I know he will bounce back even harder than before.
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