UMO, Foxygen and Wampire @The Constellation Room 2/14/2013

Josh the host of the Noodle Incident, airing Friday's 2:00-4:00am, recently saw UMO, Foxygen and Wampire at the The Constellation Room on February 14, 2013. You can find his concert review below. The Foxygen and UMO photos were taken by Adrian the host of 60 Cycle Hum, airing Thursday's 12:00-2:00pm.

The Observatory has slowly but surely established itself as a bastion of independent music in a culture deprived OC, presumably providing bands both superlatively appreciative audiences and a break from the hustle and bustle of LA. Labelmates Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Foxygen, then, serve as the latest in a string of recent killer shows hosted by the venue, dropping by The Constellation Room on the second stop of their US tour.

The night began with a quick set by opening act, Wampire, whose hazy drawl and restrained, melodic guitar licks left them occupying the same laid-back airspace as Kurt Vile, if he were to trade in his reverb pedals for overdrive – though the comparison may ultimately have more to do with frontman Eric Phipp’s similarly billowing, shagged out locks.

One broken down tour van induced delay later, and Foxygen took the stage. Fresh off the success of breakthrough sophomore effort We are the 21^st Century of Ambassadors of Peace and Magic (though they’ve been a part of the LA music scene for much longer), the band started with a playful instrumental from that album before launching into a few songs from their more scattershot debut Take the Kids Off Broadway. The show didn’t really coalesce until a string of We are album highlights (there are many) was initiated with earworm ballad San Francisco. From then on, the 22 year old duo of Sam France and Jonathan Rado (accompanied by three other players) commanded the tightly packed room with a charismatic swagger that read far beyond their baby-faced years – ensuring the audience never left a state of anything less than sweaty fervor.

Clad in garb of the same 60s-indebted aesthetic they largely owe their sound to, with some admittedly amusing stage banter (they introduced themselves as Foxygen and Starpower, for starters): the self-aware theatrics perfectly translated onto the stage the goofily endearing charm of their full length. The one and only disappointment of the set stemmed from an absence of fan-favorite No Destruction, depriving the crowd an opportunity to shout along the lyrical gem, “There’s no need to be an asshole, you’re not in Brooklyn anymore.” Though any doubts were soon washed away after a small child scurried on stage, with the help of his dad, to deliver a bouquet of Valentine’s Day roses to the tambourine-wielding chanteuse of the group – eliciting a huge hug from the singer and cementing his place as the coolest/most adorable member of the audience that night by far.

Next up was Unknown Mortal Orchestra. For a band that emerged from complete obscurity a little over two years ago, the New Zealand by way of Portland outfit’s psychedelic hooks feel eerily essential. UMO represent the antithesis of empty internet hype, after the discovery of a few singles posted to a Bandcamp page propelled the act from merely Unknown to cream-of-the-blog-crop by the time they released their self-titled debut in 2011.

This merit-based, image-averse ascension is reflected in the band’s easygoing confidence, lilting on stage without much fanfare, or even an introduction, before breezing through a series of tunes that best distill their signature interplay of fuzzed out, distorted-to-the-max guitar, androgynously purred vocal harmonies and funky percussion. The three-piece followed this with a progression of minutes-long guitar jams, leaning perhaps a bit too heavily on their psychedelic roots; a criticism that can be extended to their newly released album, II, as a whole. True to the progression of that album, however, the set ended with another series of tunes that best showcase UMO’s penchant for indelible song craft; including a one-two punch of their two best songs, Ffunny Ffriends and So Good at Being in Trouble.

Though no encore was performed, it’s worth noting that drummer, Riley Geare, still managed to end the show on his bum after a genuinely awesome freak-out following show and Unknown highlight, Boy Witch.

Both II and (deep breath) We are the 21^st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic come highly recommended; each is available digitally and physically on iTunes or at your local record store.