Gang Gang Dance

Gang Gang Dance is from Brooklyn, I think. They have been embraced and lauded as a pretty cool "band" in the Williamsburg white-fucker scene. I think they kind of sound like Liars...who I like.

I suppose this is a "review" of their DVD I saw.

Lower East Side, the 205 club, fuck-you cold outside, and I knew already that the drinks were going to be 9 dollars, the opposite of a giggling open bar. The night started off ok, as I warmed up with a Guinness in the pub around the corner, waiting for my co-worker and whiskey partner to show up (he never did). The pub played talking heads and TV on the Radio and I talked with the locals about the merits of both. Great people.

Leaving such a place to walk 30 feet in arctic cold to a hipster prom with a guest list was already looking to be horribly unappealing.

I was intrigued though, as I like noisy we-eird shit, and I was told by "the scene" that Gang Gang Dance is exactly that. So i bundled up, griped, pissed, and moaned my way 30 feet up Stanton and went in. So this was the release party eh? Shady people still had their scarves on, mugging from the garage-sale furniture VIP section. A skinny white dude played nice dubstep records, which still didn't do anything to cool me off. The 9 dollar rum and coke didn't work either, and I found my hands clenching into rocks every time I was bumped into by a "hey I'm here, did you see me?" type of person.

My spirits lifted though, when I saw the adorable girl writing notes on a pad. Just like an old school journalist. April O'neal fantasies gave me something to think about until the DVD started. I had a hero in a half shell by the time my drink was half gone....sorry I just had to, the set up was too perfect.

It should be obvious by now that I was in no condition to view something like a Gang Gang Dance DVD.

It was pretty cool, but so weird to the point that I desparately wanted some one to call "bullshit". There was no way these people were "feeling" this all the way. There were some interesting elements, but it was far too noisy and grating to cheer for. So I started getting on the whole, "these people are not here for the music, they are here for the scene" line of thinking.

I believe there is a lot of truth in that. Gang Gang Dance I'm sure has very few "fans", and by fans I mean the type that know all their songs and can whistle their tunes. BUT, fans or no fans, a lot of people still show up to their shows, and still buy their shit. This is because they enjoy (we'll stay away from the reasons WHY) what the band is a part of...which is...fucking....hip white jerks in brooklyn making innovative music.

I like to think I was just there for the music, but I came to the conclusion that I wasn't that much better than these people.

Yup, it was full on existential crisis at a DVD release party. Anyway, the DVD is called "Retinal Riddim", it is pretty cool, but the main thing to learn from this is the age old adage that I made up:

"If its good, its good, if it sucks it sucks."

If the music can stand on its own once its been severed from the scene and the hype, then it is worth your attention. Check out the trailer for the DVD, this is actually the coolest part of the whole thing because of the gabber beats.



More to come later...