Quirky as ever, the progressive rock band Deerhoof rode into 9:30 club with a bang Oct. 1. Without a word to the crowd, the band members picked up their instruments, confidently assembled themselves in a line at the front of the stage and began to play.
The adorably fun-sized singer and bassist, Satomi Matsuzaki, delivered the lyrics of the first song “Super Duper Rescue Heads” with a wide-eyed hypnotic gaze out into the crowd. Hand gestures accompanied the lyrics, only heightening the child-like tone of the song.
Matsuzaki’s gaze persisted throughout the entire hard-rocking set. It calmed the crowd at apex of chaos and challenged them at the zenith of ridiculousness.
Throughout the set, the band played games with each other. As they all continued to play, one guitarist, Ed Rodriguez, scared Matsuzaki into hiding behind an amp while the other guitarist, John Dieterich, simply walked off stage, his riffs seeming to come from nowhere. Beneath the mirage of the composition lurked a tide of improvisation that occasionally washed over the audience.
Halfway through the set, drummer Greg Saunier stood up to speak. Obviously feeling awkward, he began to stutter out some incomprehensible words. With the crowd’s help, he managed to thank the opening artist, Benjy Ferree and the Dees, and E.D. Sedgwick. His awkward and uncomfortable demeanor lasted until the very end of his speech when he made a quick joke, laughed heartily and sat back down at his drum set.
Deerhoof primarily played the songs from their latest album, “Deerhoof vs. Evil.”
In “Evil,” the band explored a more electronic sound, more composed than in their previous albums. Melodic lines weave in and out of the songs, almost seeming to combat each other, and at times morph into hard-rocking complex chord changes.
For the live arrangement of the album, the band managed to control the transformation of the recordings into performance with a refreshing vigor. The songs were throwbacks of the older Deerhoof sound without the workings of a studio, retaining their sense of composition.
The band finished by playing over a short stop-action film. By this point the crowd was transfixed and stared at the projection like a cult might stare at their figurehead.
After the band had left the stage and the audience began to break up, a single woman remained standing in front of the stage. The tears she tried to hold back eventually broke and streamed down her face. Deerhoof’s music is powerful, so let us hope they continue to use this power for good.
