GANG GANG DANCE / Black Dice / Battles, Central Park Summerstage

Part II-
There’s something about aging rock stars that warms the cockles of my little ole’ heart. Not aging rockstars like Mic Jagger, who should be dead, or at least offstage by now. But rockstars who are just beginning their careers or aren't as well known. Those who break through the pervasive 20-something monotony. Inherent in their age is a resilience to ephemeral fads and a genuine devotion to their craft. No one on stage, looked a day under 40, and no one in the front of the slowly gathering crowd seemed to mind. However, only a few brave souls made sure the last part of the band's name wasn't added in vain.

Gang Gang Dance, a Brooklyn group comprised of a drummer prone to spontaneous dancing, a man who controls pedals and electronics, and a charasmatic singer, sounds like the soundtrack to an Arabian mystery in a house club in the jungle. Somewhere between the amazonic leaves and techno keyboard is a guitarist...I guess. He was in the corner of the stage and didn’t seem produce much sound, despite constant strumming motions.

The lead singer looked a bit like Bjork, with gapped teeth and semi dreaded hair accented with a large burgundy ribbon. She whined with a childlike voice that boomed sometimes, and stayed quiet and pleading at others. At one point, the amps started rocking and swaying; the indie rock equivalent to an opera singer breaking glass. It was as if some ancient primal spirit possessed them and caused them to move. The balance between the vocals and the other instruments was sometimes off. I would have wanted to better distinguish between when the singer was reciting lyrics (and her voice should be a bit above the mix) and when her vocals were atmospheric (and should be set further back in the mix). The dynamics of her voice seemed haphazard.

At it’s worst, Gang Gang Dance sounds reason-y and amateurish. Often times the transitions between songs were more intriguing than the songs they actually morphed into. But as soon as I would think, “this is kind of cheezy” I would hear something surprising and interesting. And as soon as I would realize, “this is actually kind of nice” the motif would already by finished, or continue seeming cheesy.

At it’s best, Gang Gang Dance is repetitive but wandering and extremely danceable. As I’ve said before, opening acts can often reveal a lot about the headlining act. Gang Gang Dance’s music certainly alluded to Battle's math-rock repeition and Black Dice’s new-primitivism. (This term will come up again, and I’ll be forced to finally define it). The layering of percussion alluded to both math-rock precision and new-primitivism; at times every member of the band was banging on something or had some kind of percussive element to their playing. Sometimes the banging was so vigorous, that their instrument began falling apart. Gang Gang Dance is fun and playful without compromising the music to make it sound cheap or like simple presequenced music; Gang Gang Dance certainly tows that line pretty closely. Fortunately, they stayed on the right side of it.