Sonic Youth Gossip - Can you reccomend any bands that are doing interesting things with visuals?

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Can you reccomend any bands that are doing interesting things with visuals?

I don't mean just a few projections on stage. More like bands that use performing elements (i.e. dancers in costumes, and no mimes) without coming accross as tacky or the blue men. A bit like what The Fall did with Clark. Something that good. Thanks.

I was impressed by SY's show--especially compared to the two previous ones. I liked how the backdrop paintings changed with the lighting. I liked those 5x5 lights on stage.

But, please, allow me to reminisce. The year, 1980(?), the band Genesis--yeah, I know well past their prime but I didn't realize that yet. But the lighting, OMG, the lighting. First half of the show, fairly conventional except that the lights changed color fast--no rise time/no decay just on-off with different colors. Then, the lights were on the audience--thought, Hmm, didn't see any pointed at the audience--as they swung towards the stage! The birth of Varilights was a wonder to behold. Hard to believe they are so ubiquitous now.

Siouxsie had a fantastic show for Peepshow. Peter Gabriel's were generally pretty darn good. I don't think anybody could match The Tubes for a stage show.

Shibusashirazu.
There's a good chance this qualifies as tacky, but I like it anyways.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT4ZK...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_l8R...eature=related

I know you know, but for those that don't, I'm going to take this opportunity to blow hype:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/deadair/sets/1409930/

of course at times we look more ridiculous than the Blue Men, but still I hope it's a fair answer to your question.

Puppetmastaz
but I think they're not around anymore

Squarepusher used LED walls with simple 8 bit motion graphics on his last tour.
Very refreshing and funky, compared to most of the video projections out there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Genteel Death

Nobody does it better than the Residents really...

Does extreme use of strobes count to? You can include my bloody valentine and a place to burry strangers then.

The spores mabye with their half puppetshow but they split. And of course kraftwerk.

I was going to reply to this last night.

I tried, a while ago, to find some dancers for an 'improv project'. The problem I found is that dancers, like most musicians, often don't 'gel' with the idea of improv. I'm sure there are dancers out there who get it, but even dancers who are aware of butoh or contact improv seem to baulk at the idea of getting involved with 'improv' music.

So, basically, to answer the earlier question, I think you'd be better off asking this question on a dance forum, because the (frankly shit) bands Caroliner or Residents are probably the best answers you're getting from this forum (although I'm going to check out Shibusashirazu who I'm not aware of).

Having checked out Shibusashirazu, they seem to be very similar (in some ways) to Basement Jaxx, who have one of the best live shows going (regardless of the fact their music is a bit meh).

Butthole Surfers?

Maybe not so much now though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by demonrail666

Butthole Surfers?

Maybe not so much now though.

fuck yeah! That's one of the bands I had in mind when I started this thread. Anyway, I wasn't hoping for much but thank you for you all for your suggestions. I sure say but a lot on this forum.

Quote:

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

CAROLINER

This. I have yet to go to a show, but even just watching their gluetube videos is fantastic. Seems like something that you can walk in sober and it hits you like an acid trip.

I haven't gone to any bands that really put on a strong visual performance. I saw Neon Hunk (paperrad) and their projection videos were great, very similar to the ones on their website and the 13 Monsters Lightning Bolt video. Animal collective had dancers in interesting costumes and pretty neat light-emanating poles when I saw them.

Skinny Puppy used to put on highly elaborate live shows.

IE: dissecting fake dogs, guts pulled out and eaten, evil-trees and demon-masks on painter's stilts.

a personal favorite of mine is the virtual-reality helmet with corresponding hell-trip backing video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GnMC...eature=related

they've grown pretty tame these days though. they used to be so good at it. :(

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glice

Shibusa are a pretty incredible thing to witness live, especially in smaller venues. I definitely recommend seeing them if you get the chance.

Someone who I think is good at mixing dance and Improv (with a capital I) is Chie Mukai of Che Shizu fame. I did a thing with her last week that involved about 30 butoh dancers and 10 musicians, which surprisingly ended up being pretty successful. Ms. Mukai is a dancer herself and I think the success of the event was largely a result of her monthly improv ( with a lowercase i) workshops. Hopefully someone will post it on Youtube soon.
Here is the same event several years ago sans me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SP8LC5rkoM

This is brilliant. I wish I was involved. Sadface.

Apparently Nosaj Thing does a neat visual show now. It looks interesting - I've barely seen anything of it though so I can't say if it's great or shit.

Quote:

A few months ago, I spent a pretty considerable swath of time with Jason Chung, the young producer and mainstay of the Low End Theory club night in Lincoln Heights who performs as Nosaj Thing. When it comes to L.E.T.'s live sets, Flying Lotus might be the virtuoso and Gaslamp Killer is the unhinged showboat, but Nosaj is the quiet, serious one -- the scene's George Harrison, if you will. Chung always looks as though he's having an argument with his laptop rig onstage, poking and wrangling and retreating like the thing is a downed power line.
Chung's live set is about to get a whole lot more involved. This Sunday he's staging a synapse-rupturing video show in Los Angeles that looks to absolutely remake his entire live performance experience. Designed by his girlfriend, Julia Tsao, and collaborator Adam Guzman, it uses dramatic contrasts in lights and shapes to manipulate depth perception and seemingly remake the room around Chung.
"We were really inspired by Cornelius and Daft Punk," Chung said. "With so many electronic artists and DJs, there are often visuals, but they feel irrelevant to the music. We wanted more of a total experience."

The set -- which Chung officially debuted this year at the Pop Montreal festival -- begins as a pointedly abstract, black-and white series of flashes and geometric figures that establish a mood and pace. As the set progresses, the visuals eventually open into more colorful and depth-distorting fields. The visual elements are actually performed live by Guzman and Tsao, as opposed to being triggered by Chung's music.
"We really wanted to play with perception and disorient the audience," Guzman said. "Towards the end, it gets really hard to tell where Jason is onstage."
Given the difficulties of making electronica look interesting -- a problem many Low End artists are already cracking -- Nosaj's new set looks to be a huge step forward in that regard. And for Guzman and Tsao -- both Art Center vets -- this set hopefully will be the start of two long careers in making boundary-breaking music feel even more otherworldly.

EDIT: it looks cool: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inVJv...eature=related