The Dirty Projectors - Antone's, Austin TX - October 26, 2009


[from Brooklyn, NY] complex and sophisticated music that was possibly based in Afro-pop or new wave but verged into prog rock – absolutely inventive – lead vocalist/guitarist communicated musical genius to me and I fancy he wrote the songs and what with his crazy guitar skills he couldn’t help but throw a little prog into the music – his voice was also very good… something between Antony and the Johnsons and Elvis Costello and Paul Simon – he was usually accompanied by  three female backing vocalists who created a fabric of sweet noises that went from an ethereal drone to a’cappella to screaming – sometimes they would juxtapose their harmonizing almost in a beat boxing fashion so that it created a synthy sound which was amazing – departures from the general sound included the beginning of the set in which the lead guy used an electric guitar in a singer/songwriter style, when he accompanied the black-haired female vocalist in a very pretty jazz vocal, when the entire band would bend over at the waist and incongruously thrash to finish a song (just made me giggle), when the bass guitarist brought out an upright bass which added a jazz feel again to the music, and when the blonde female vocalist took over the stage in a liltingly funky M.I.A.-like song – in other amusing sidenotes, the band generally engaged in anti-cool posturing with the lead guy wearing two massive cardigans, the bass guitarist in an old-school sweatshirt that had some witty saying on it that I forget now, the black-haired vocalist in a plain black t-shirt with a little necklace, etc. etc. – there was also a drummer whom I’m sorry to say I could not see at all (Photo courtesy of https://thepistola.wordpress.com/2009/10/22/dirty-projectors-at-the-trocadero-10212009/)

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