Photo by MARY LYNN DOMINGUEZ
Arriving at the spooky little dimly-lit venue that is Johnny Brenda’s last night, I definitely felt like I was in the right place to hear Avey Tare’s Slasher Flick’s play a set. I got there around the time doors opened, which is basically when the major dweebs with too much free time arrive for these affairs. It was pretty empty except for a few other people, so I had time to check the place out. The mini-skeletons hanging along the bar provoked the kleptomaniac in me, while the broken photo booth in the back left me brokenhearted and three bucks richer. It only took a few minutes of trying to kill time by spinning around on barstools before I looked up and across the room, and realized that Avey Tare was sitting directly across from me. After a few seconds of debating whether that was him and if it would be ok to blow his cover in such a quiet setting, I went for it. He kindly introduced himself to me, which I thought was humble and totally breaks that whole “don’t meet your idols cause they’re probably disappointing jerks” rule. I asked if he would take a selfie with me, ’cause it’s the 2014 thing to do, and he obliged. I could have left happily at that point, but of course I didn’t. Slasher Flicks took the stage before a decently packed audience. I’m horrible with numbers— to illustrate, It was easy enough to do a little two-step if you felt like it, but there wasn’t enough space to do a full-on dance solo if that was more your thing. Slasher Flicks played all 11 songs from their debut album, Enter the Slasher House, but changed things up by playing in a different sequence than what is on the album, and leaving tons of space for jams during songs. Avey Tare belted out his distinctive helium-pitched vocals, with a wild range of expressions that made it easy to see how invested he was in the performance. Particularly insane was Jeremy Hyman’s drumming — pounding out the eccentric beats on Enter the Slasher House seems like no easy task with just two arms, but he did that and a few outrageous solos like clockwork. Angel Deradoorian’s haunting and heavenly vocals added another layer of pleasant derangement. — MARY LYNN DOMINGUEZ
PREVIOUSLY: Talking Cats & Drugs & Slasher Flicks With Animal Collective’s Avey Tare
SET LIST
Catchy (Was Contagious)
Blind Babe
A Sender
That It Won’t Grow
Roses on the Window
Duplex Trip
Your Card
Little Fang
The Outlaw
Modern Daze E
Strange Colores