NYC The Presets
Click above to watch QuickTime (26 MB)
Call it what you want: disco-punk, electro-rock, New Rave. These monikers tend to come with a 12-month expiration date. But one thing's certain -- the body-moving beats that are currently the signature sound emanating from Paris to Brooklyn transcend description. As a result, captured beautifully in the Rapture's anthem 'People Don't Dance No More,' we have all been shamed back onto the dance floor. So, when I saw that the Presets were teaming up with the Ed Banger Crew at Hiro, I pretty much fainted.
You see, the Presets struck a chord (several actually) when we first saw them open for Hot Chip a year ago. Classically-trained musicians Kim Moyes and Julian Hamilton joined Aussie forces to make music both melodic and minor. Think Neu! and Stevie Nicks having a quickie in a cheap motel off the side of the road from pop sensibility. The resulting album, 'Beams,' has us scrambling for every subsequent NYC gig since.
Cut to Hiro Ballroom the night of said event. It was an interesting crowd - not everyone was familiar with the band, but the duo rose to the occasion and didn't stop. The sound coming from the Presets' samplers and drum-kit made no sense whatsoever, and therein lies its genius. After 30 seconds, the opening of 'Girl (You Chew My Mind Up)’ bitch-smacked the crowd with its infectious beats, and people started to move. Staunchly crossed arms fell to their sides, and by the time the band kicked into 'Girl and the Sea,' the ballroom was a giant undulating wave of bodies. The closing epic nightlife 'I Go Hard, I Go Home' resulted in our favorite kind of gig mayhem - strobes, fist-pumping, and borderline loss of orientation. Yes, the ballroom was packed to a level of asphyxiation, but it was worthwhile. The more people the Presets spread this dance fever to, the better.
~Abbey Braden punkphoto.com
See: The Presets perform “Girl and The Sea” at Hiro Ballroom.
Special thanks to gbh.tv and Hiro Ballroom
