Monday, October 18, 2010

Musicalia: GAYNGS - Emo's, Austin, TX - 10/9/10

(Sorry about the delay on this post.  I started it early last week, when it would have been much more timely.)

After four EPTs, three First Responses, and a ClearBlue Easy Pregnancy Test, I can nearly categorically say that I am not pregnant despite my concerns after having taken in what was ultimately GAYNGS' last show* of their brief fall tour. I do have an appointment set up with TSLF's OB/GYN just to make sure, but I think that the supremely potent baby-makin' tunage that I took in on Saturday managed to miss impregnating my by some strange twist of fate, thus sparing me some serious urethral damage in nine-and-a-half months.  

*In a sordid tale, their gear was abducted and driven to Nashville in the dark of night as a possible result of non-payment for bus services--not taking sides here, but I know that playing a stage at ACL pays a fuckload, and they were surely going to have money to spend the next day on such things as tour buses.  It seems like cooler heads probably could have prevailed--as the owner of CJ Star Buses sketchily saw fit to stoop to responding to chat room baiting here, I have a hard time believing that any less than professional behavior on GAYNGS' and Nate Vernon's part were likely a response to similarly shitty behavior on CJ Curtsinger's behalf.  Who does Curtsinger think he is, the CEO of Whole Foods**?***

**What a douche.****

***I also got more of the story after having written that passage from a quasi-inside source, and it sounds like Curtsinger may very well get his ass handed to him in court.  That's all I feel comfortable saying right now.

****And, yes, I do expect "Rahodeb" to comment here shortly...

Now, I don't know about you, but when I wanna feel sexy, I've been throwing Relayted on since the instant I bought it.  How my entire apartment isn't reproduced at an alarming rate, I'll never know, but my TV can feel free to spawn a larger child any time now.  Needless to say, it's been a sexy past couple of months in my lair.

Luckily, this past weekend presented a chance to see what could well end up being the only tour that this smooth, saxy, early-80s-pop-loving supergroup.  Now, as someone who unironically owns albums by bands like Bread, 10cc, Prince, and Bruce Hornsby, GAYNGS is in my wheelhouse.  I was excited heading in, and my excitement was met with a fun as hell show.


Openers, Bear in Heaven started things off (for me at least) with their weird merger of dreamy rock and REO Speedwagon vocals that leant itself well to what was to follow, especially given its surely coincidental throwback to the decade that the GAYNGS project is reveling in.

Once GAYNGS took the stage, it was a blitz of classic prom night bliss and smooth, saxy pop.  For a taste of what the performance is like, a look at this performance video* should inform you.

*Filmed at First Avenue, where I have easily seen more shows than anywhere else in my life.  There are things that I miss about Minneapolis, and First Ave, for all its shortcomings, is one of them.  To bring everything full circle, Prince, whose fame came to its peak on the very stage in the video, was at this show.

Now maybe GAYNGS ain't your bag, but this show was fun as hell with covers of Sade, George Michael, and Alan Parsons Project sprinkled in with the songs from the album, which includes a cover of 10cc-off-shoot Godley & Creme's "Cry."  It might be too late for you to see the band in this form, as it is comprised of members of Bon Iver, Megafaun, Solid Gold, the Rosebuds, Rhymesayer P.O.S., Digitata, Doomtree, and more, all of whom surely have other musical lives and projects to turn back to.


Despite the fact that Relayted was probably a one-off, GAYNGS brought it like a band older than its years in the best way.  Knowing their love for the music drives the audience, the fun they had on stage was contagious.  There seemed to be a shocking lack of ego throughout the band, with the driving force behind everything, Ryan Olson, content to sit in the background, orchestrating the shindig from his laptop at the back of the stage. 

In short, the show was outstanding.

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