Gustavo TurnerPocahaunted, Eagle Rock's self proclaimed “Olsen twins of blissed-out drone,” played one last local warm up gig last night at the Echo Curio before heading to Texas and SXSW. The Curio storefront was packed with a young, chill crowd who danced to the beat of ace weirdo drummer Ged Gengras and swayed to the eerie wailing of pixieish frontwoman Amanda Brown and bassist Diva Dompe.
The opening act was Highland Park's Infinite Body, Kyle Parker's really good sound modulation project that seems ideal for a venue like the Curio. Infinite Body's subtle manipulation of shimmering waves of sound was a perfect complimentary appetizer for the more theatrical antics of Pocahaunted.
Completing the bill were Iowa's Taterbug and Tracy Trance, currently on a national tour.
Pocahaunted at the Echo Curio
There were some difficulties with Pocahunted's sound early on and for several minutes Amanda had to commandeer the crowd through a kind of reverb-heavy stand-up comedy act, where she talked about the Alice in Wonderland movie, the Oscars, and her bass-player's impeding college graduation. But once the musicians were content with the amplification the crowd was treated to a preview of the band's imminent album, Make It Real, coming from No Not Fun this Spring.
Amanda told Daiana Feuer last year that she had been on a dub/funk/African music kick and that the sound of the band had mutated accordingly. The 2010 model Pocahaunted, propelled by its excellent drummer, is sure to wow the SXSW crowd in this current, and odd, climate of universal Fela Kuti worship by art-school bands.
The Psychedelic Burger King?: Pocahaunted's drummer gets facepainted; Credit: Gustavo Turner
Credit: Gustavo Turner
Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.