Seattle Subsonic

Fischerspooner Lights Up The Showbox

May 27th, 2009

You ever hear so much hype about a show that there is no way that it can live up to the expectation preceding it? Well guess what? That was Fischerspooner last night.

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An obviously Memorial Day 3-day-weekend-hung-over Seattle crowd slowly crept into the Showbox market last night to watch the New York based electro-duo throw down dancing, beats, and a lighting show that was… how do you say?… Eh? Don’t get me wrong its actually not Fischerspooner’s fault at all, its everyone who told me how over-the-top awesome the show was going to be that left a pair of impossible shoes to fill. Regardless, the show was pretty spectacular with props, dancers, lights, mirrors, costumes (between every song) and video projected into the backdrop.

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First, before I get into Fischerspooner’s actual performance, let me make a few comments about how the sound person (I don’t know if they worked for the Showbox or Fischerspooner) managed to fuck-up a world class act for at least 2 or 3 songs. And if your wondering why I drop the F bomb so many times throughout its because that’s the only way I can accurately describe in words how shitty it sounded.

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Second song, SECOND SONG! The clipping that was cracking through the speakers was so bad that you could barely stand it. People who don’t understand what was going on were looking around at each other and trying to get into the music but couldn’t, because the extra distorted cracking that was coming out of the mains was almost un-fucking-barable. I kept looking back toward the board to see if there was a look of shear panicking “OMG I’m totally fucking this group out of their show” look on the face of the sound person… but no. The dude was just moving sliders, tweaking knobs, and basically hoping it would go away… which it did, and then came back sporadically throughout the rest of the show. I know its a hard job running sound, but I know for a fact they run 45 minute sound checks for every show hours prior, I dunno what happened, but it fucking sucked!

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Fischerspooner however, did not. Casey Spooner danced and sung around onstage through the entire performance, being catered to, and handed off multiple props and wardrobe changes by his fashionably equal dancers. Four giant mirrors (like if one broke someone is loosing a limb and 100 years bad luck) on wheels were spun into different positions all night as the choreographed show crooned from song to song. Several times Spooner stopped to talk to the crowd, asking if everyone was confused enough yet, and asking what city was he in… to which the crowd cheered and wailed as if nothing that came out of his mouth would ever be offensive enough to stop the glee.

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Soon it came time for the hit single “Emerge” to which he obviously has played so many times he’s over it, but instead of faking a show to the audience, he played up to it. Saying things like “you really want to hear this? This song is so cliche, so 2000, you really want to hear cliche?” Finally yelling “YOU REALLY WANT CLICHE!” and the crowd went nuts… and that was probably the best song of the night.

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Look, its no secret I like electronic music, but if you’ve heard Fischerspooner before and are expecting more than what you hear, your probably going to be disappointed. Some of the material is fairly ambient, so its not as hard hitting as whassay… good hip-hop, but harder than the cool down room at a rave. The lights and entertainment factor were huge for the show, but honestly, they needed a bigger venue. The Showbox stage just was not big enough to really cater to the magnitude of show they were trying to bring. All in all it was really entertaining, but nothing really went “POW” at the show, I kept waiting to be blown away, and I just wasn’t. I do however recommend you see them next time they come through as its definitely entertaining, just not get off your ass and shake it till the sun comes up entertaining.