‘SAB Live’ presents rock, rap and electronic set
by Micah Sommer
“Weird” is the word to describe tonight’s Student Activities Board (SAB) event, according to Earlham junior and SAB Music Committee head John Jacobson. The First Lady Part I concert features four up-and-coming acts: rock bands Tyvek and Box Elders, rap duo Das Racist and the headlining act, solo electronic artist Tobacco.
Tobacco is the front man of “big, psychedelic rock electronic band” Black Moth Super Rainbow. Jacobson described his solo work as heavy synth loops over electronic beats, played over footage of 1970s children’s programming, soft-core pornography and cooking shows. Tobacco’s portion of the concert will thus be an audio-visual event.
Jacobson encountered the rap act Das Racist when he was the sound man for a show of theirs in Brooklyn. “I didn’t really think much of them except I thought they were hilarious,” Jacobson recalled. The two-piece group gave him an iPod and instructed him to press “play.” They then impressed Jacobson and the crowd by rapping over the “Family Matters” theme and performing their best-known track, “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.”
The song, which online music magazine Pitchfork (pitchfork.com) described as “Harold and Kumar existentialism,” consists of repetitive lyrics that seem to imply a critique of mainstream American consumerism. Or maybe it’s all just for laughs. Regardless, the track became a hit after electronic musician Dan Deacon, who has also performed at Earlham, espoused his love for it. Whether Earlham students are similarly taken in remains to be seen.
The two other acts performing tonight, Box Elders and Tyvek, are of a mold perhaps more familiar to the typical Earlham student. Both are three-piece rock bands booked by junior Micah Wood, also a member of SAB’s Music Committee. Wood described the bands’ sound as garage rock.
Wood explained that Tyvek is an unsigned band from Michigan. Their debut album, the eponymous “Tyvek,” received a favorable 7.6 rating from Pitchfork. In the Pitchfork review David Bevan said that Tyvek’s music “feels like it’s about to overheat and come apart at its hinges. But it never does.”
Wood expects Tyvek to put on a good show. “Their live shows are really insane,” he said, although he acknowledged that he himself has not seen them live.
Box Elders, the other three-piece performing tonight, hail from Omaha, Neb., according to Wood. Pitchfork gave their album “Alice and Friends” a middling 5.4 rating; however, this band boasts a secret weapon: a drummer-keyboardist. In YouTube footage of Box Elders’ live shows, band member Dave Goldberg can be seen banging on the skins with one hand while the other plays piercing organ licks, a second drumstick gripped in his teeth for later use.
Wood hopes the bands he is bringing will appeal to an Earlham audience. “If you like rock and roll, then you’ll like this,” he asserted. “I’d say it’s pretty accessible if you like good times and friendly folks.”
Although Jacobson’s acts, Das Racist and Tobacco, are perhaps less musically conventional, he hopes they too will appeal to Earlham students’ discerning ears. “Mostly what we’re going for is weird,” he said of the choice of acts. “Weird is an awesome demographic … at Earlham.”
Jacobson also mentioned plans for an after-party in “a new art space.” Although he was sketchy on details, he indicated more would be revealed at the concert.
Students who enjoy tonight’s show can come back for more on Oct. 10, when First Lady Part II takes place. Jacobson described next month’s event as a “straight-up rock show.” The concert will see the return of previous Earlham performers Future Islands, as well as performances by I’m turning into [sic], Antimagic and Screaming Females.
Jacobson is particularly excited about Screaming Females, saying that since he booked them last spring they have opened for alternative supergroup the Dead Weather and have been featured in a full-page article in Rolling Stone.
Jacobson expects Screaming Females to draw a crowd at Earlham, saying, “If MTV likes them and Rolling Stone likes them, it’s not just going to be the kids in the back.”
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