Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Posted at
11:25
by
Shaula Clark
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
It’s not shocking that the crowd for a
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
show would be a little standoffish. After all, the entire Casiotone
discography is brimming with awkwardness. And so too is T.T. the Bear’s
Place this July night.
For openers
Pants Yell!, the audience manages to be both appreciative and aloof. Lead singer
Andrew Churchman once described
Boston as a place “where everyone wears scarves all the time.” And
though most of the crowd are dudded up in clamdiggers and sandals,
their Boston scarves are still wrapped tight. After PY! lay down “I
Remember” (a wistful example of their jangly, just-shy-of-twee indie
pop), Churchman asks, “Did everyone have a good Fourth of July?”
Silence, and then a lone voice honks, “I got sunburned.” So much for
crowd banter.
There’s a bit of a thaw for
Cryptacize,
whose unhinged melodies fall somewhere between ’50s girl-group pop and
a psychedelic carousel ride. Lead singer Nedelle Torrisi bops around in
a floaty polka-dot shirt dress while guitarist Chris Cohen (formerly of
Deerhoof) messes with his effects pedals. Late in the set, Torrisi
announces, sweetly, “This is a song about psychosis,” before playing
their new album’s title track, “Mythomania.” It’s the only time they
address the audience before hopping off stage.
In what is more of a long entrance than a “big” one, Casiotone’s sole
member, Owen Ashworth, spends the next half-hour fiddling with
equipment, plugging and unplugging cables, and fine-tuning his Nord.
When he does look up from his gear, he suddenly launches into “Optimist
vs. The Silent Alarm (When The Saints Go Marching In),” a cut off his latest,
Vs. Children.
His set, though short, is a good mix of new tracks and old faves. The
highlight is “Love Connection,” which Ashworth will play only if an
audience member sings it; brave fan Donna takes the mic. As Ashworth
himself remarks (though he’s referring to a previous
audience-participation experiment), “She forgot the words, but it was
still great.”
Cryptacize, "Mythomania"
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, "Optimist vs. The Silent Alarm"
