FOXTAIL SOMERSAULT
FRENCH DISCO
PELOTON
The Rockit Room
02-08-07

Ah, there’s nothing like an evening of shoe-gazing, psychedelic pop to bring out the fight in bouncers working in the rough-and-tumble...uh, Richmond District?!?

The first band I saw, Peloton, was at their best when they played expansive, wall-of-sound-type compositions. Their sound reminds me of Asobi Seksu without the edge, which isn’t entirely a bad thing. When the keys and guitar swell to tsunami heights and the rhythm section holds down a low end that is both searching and driving at the same time, the whole band achieves an epic glory. But there is a thoroughly saccharine side to Peloton, as well: a sugary pop side that lacks the depth to make it compelling, although it had a jazzy sensibility that’s not terribly common in the shoe-gaze realm.

French Disco came next, with a much more traditional rock-n-roll take on shoegaze. Like Peloton, French Disco created dense, delay-drenched, reverb-soaked, towering walls of noise reminiscent of bands like My Bloody Valentine or Ride (but without the folky, acoustic-guitar element that those bands often inject into their sound).

Singer Myriam de la Jara seemed to be channeling Siousxie Sioux, but her vocal stylings are equally redolent of Elizabeth Fraser—especially because her Spanish/French accent made me think that she was employing glossolalia, or nonsensical verbalizations. De la Jara might have actually been singing words though; I don’t know. I do know it sounded cool, whatever she was singing.

The headliner was Foxtail Somersault, who were playing their second show with new singer Catherine Howland. Despite having the most lush sound of the evening—on a bill full of lush sounds— something about their show failed to grab me. All the elements were there: propulsive but laid-back rhythms, atmospheric vocals, ambient guitars that weren’t afraid to take on a harder edge and envelop you in a torrent of sound.

But there was something almost too wistful about the band, as if everyone was half asleep, or, at least for this night, just going through the motions. The vocals, for instance, were beautiful and haunting, but sounded so dreamy it was like listening to Hope Sandoval if she was really, really bored. To be fair, Ms. Howland did tell the crowd that they’d been working on a bunch of new songs; so I hope they’re still working out where to place the hooks.

Now, on to the main event:

Toward the middle of the Foxtail Somersault set, an obviously-inebriated guy started dancing drunkenly in front of the stage. I didn’t see what preceded the following incident. After the show, however, the guy got beat up pretty viciously by two bouncers, who, in their defense, spent a few minutes trying to talk the guy into leaving peaceably.

The bouncers alleged that the drunk dancer cocked a fist, which prompted one of the bouncers to punch him multiple times in the face while the other bouncer held him. When the drunk guy fell to the ground and the first bouncer knelt on his back; the other bouncer apparently still felt threatened, because he bent over and punched the dude in the face about eight more times, just for good measure. It was a perfectly incongruous end to the evening.

Way to protect the peace, gentleman!

[Mike G.]

[STREAM] Foxtail Somersault: Various Tracks
[STREAM]  French Disco:  Various Tracks
[STREAM] Peloton: Various Tracks