Wonderful. Wacky. Rocky. Deerhoof play 2 upcoming NYC shows. - Oh My Rockness

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Wonderful. Wacky. Rocky. Deerhoof play 2 upcoming NYC shows.

January 24, 2007
Not prepared to see Deerhoof this Friday? No worries, they'll be back at Irving Plaza on Saturday, February 10th for the Plug Awards. Get your tickets now.

The first thing you need to know about Deerhoof is that they are a SICK live band. If you like your performers best when they bounce, then this band is the band for you. Singer Satomi Matsuzaki has so much energy she puts even The Go!Team's Ninja to shame (Satomi doesn't need a silly pseudonym to rock you out). This show should be "a high-octane thrill ride of twisted rhythm mania" (the worst quote of all time?).

Deerhoof, and their ever-evolving cast of characters, are not normal. They sing and play music about things like bunnies (not exactly the most common song subject in the annals of rock 'n' roll) and they tend to be enigmatic and evasive when describing their work (I don't blame them). Maybe their irresistible oddness -- that leads to their tremendous rockness -- has something to do with being from San Francisco. I hear a lot of crazies, like the Rice-a-Roni guy, live there.

Alas, strange specimens certainly have a tendency to rock just a little harder than the normal ones, and Deerhoof is by no means an exception. Cuddly and chaotic, bubbly and bruising, Deerhoof receive inspiration from sound rather than structure. Their music teeters on electric self-destruction with only the faintest traces of a musical spine, yet it works, promoting a sound that is both challenging and accessible.

Deerhoof's music can best be described as experimental noise-punk with an improvisational prog-rock bent. They use keyboards just as much as shredding guitars and roaring percussion. And sonically, they tinker every which way, from a set's start to its finish. You're never quite sure how Deerhoof gets from Point A to Point C in their songs (it certainly isn't via Point B -- that would be too logical), but they always manage to get there. The result is more often than not better than it should be. You couldn't map this stuff out if you tried.

Deerhoof play 2 nights at Irving Plaza, Friday, January 26th, and Saturday, February 10th.

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