REVIEW: Dry Cleaning Shines at Basilica
05/03 @ Basilica Hudson
“Chalk it up to the artists, the venue, the instruments, or maybe a mix of them all, but it felt as if I was part of the music in a way, rather than just watching it play out.”
Dry Cleaning lies somewhere between psychedelic rock and contemporary folk; with little else but their own instruments and some vibrant lighting, the band transported a bewitched audience at Basilica Hudson to that mysterious location this past Sunday.
Despite being a lifelong music enthusiast — and one of the relatively few people keeping Last.fm alive — I’ve rarely attended concerts. I’m just not a very extroverted person, and have long been satisfied with sound-proof headphones and the safe warmth of my bed to experience music; even that as atmospheric as Dry Cleaning. But now having seen them live, I understand the beauty of live music that I’ve so-often heard people ramble about.
The night began with a performance from YHWH Nailgun, a rock band that, upon retrospection, feels like the perfect antithesis to Dry Cleaning. A sort of storm before the (relative) calm. The wildly emotive vocalist Zack Borzone flailed around the stage like a puppet brought to life, yet was entirely in control of his mannerisms. I appreciate the unpredictable in experimental music, and you could never really be sure what sort of bizarre sound, or cacophony of sneezes, Borzone was going to croon next.
What the two bands had most in common, then, was excellent drumming; I noticed that the Basilica can be quite loud — though they do provide free ear plugs — but this seems to be the benefit of the surreal experience. The drums are centered downstage, with extra attention called to them as ‘Dry Cleaning’ was spelled out in red duct tape on the front of the band’s drum set, and they did their fair part in filling the room with pure music. Chalk it up to the artists, the venue, the instruments, or maybe a mix of them all, but it felt as if I was part of the music in a way, rather than just watching it play out.
To that end, when Dry Cleaning hit, they introduced themselves music-first with their most recent single, “Sliced by a Fingernail.” A perfect opener, not only because of its recency, but because of how much it summarizes their work: mildly confusing but beautifully haunting lyrics softly spoken (and occasionally sung) over sounds of a varying intensity. More simply put: the music is great, and it translates even better on stage when you see how involved all the members are in the work.
Vocalist Florence Shaw was so emotive and engaged in the lyrical nature of these songs that, at times, it almost felt as if she was passionately telling a charming story rather than singing a song. And at some moments, she did just that. About halfway through the set, Shaw introduced “Cruise Ship Designer” with a story about being contacted by someone who makes boats that was upset about the song — to which guitarist Tom Dowse humorously responded, “It’s only rock & roll.”
Matter of fact, despite making music that can at times be quite weird — they are loosely considered post-punk after all — the members of Dry Cleaning seem quite sincere. Shaw shyly smiled when every single song received a loud chorus of applause and cheers, and made a note to point out a guy in the crowd with a puppet on his arm. Wearing a shirt from John Doe Records, bassist Lewis Maynard was so enveloped in the music that when he bopped his head and whipped his majestic hair, it felt as if that was exactly what he was born to do.
After the first few songs, it became clear that much of the audience around me weren’t yet the biggest Dry Cleaning fans, or at least not enough to know the lyrics inside and out. Yet regardless, everyone clearly was enraptured by the band; Shaw’s silky smooth vocals are nothing if not bewitching, and the songs are crafted just right so that the instrumentalists (including drummer Nick Buxton and touring keyboardist Josh Eggerton) each get their moment to shine.
But there was one song everyone knew, and waited patiently for: the longest (and most popular) track from Secret Love, “Hit My Head All Day.” When the band left the stage without ever playing it, after a round of gracious thanks to the crowd, the audience seemed equally mesmerized and confused… myself included. But the song was, a couple moments later, revealed to be the encore, closing the wonderful night with this hypnotic psychedelic anthem that David Bowie would surely enjoy — it is produced by Cate Le Bon after all.