Deerhoof @ Bowery Ballroom, 30 Jan 2006

Last night I finally realized a dream of sorts - to see Deerhoof play a live show. Yes, I find that sometimes it works out better to set easily achievable goals such as seeing certain bands live or re-learning how to write in cursive, but that's neither here nor there. I knew that they'd put on a killer live show and I knew that Greg Saunier (drummer/founder) was going to be some kinda special. With expectations raised to very high levels a let down of sorts wouldn't be too much of a surprise...

What can I say? They surpassed any and every expectation I had going in. Last night, Deerhoof flat out played probably the best show I'll see in 2006. That's a stretch perhaps (so don't kill me if I change my mind in the near future...the EAR FARMer can be a fickle beast) but it wouldn't be so strange if that's still how I feel in December of this year. All of the touches I was used to hearing in their music were present in the live show: the delicate low key music, the exploding creativity, the interesting time signatures, the tight performances. Those are the kinds of things you might think a band would lose track of when performing in front of an audience but that didn't happen last night. In fact, it seemed like Deerhoof was MORE on top of their game in front of an audience. Bassist/guitarist/vocalist Satomi Matsuzaki wasn't shy like I'd postulated, instead she was commanding. Both guitarists ripped and shredded with quiet confidence that made the whole show seem like a jam session despite the studied shifts in the music. And the drummer Greg Saunier...well he just fucking killed. He's the best drummer I've seen in a long long time.

People pay attention: I should have ranked their album higher in my year end list; all of my time signature counting music nerd friends who DON'T currently listen to this band need to get with it, everyone else should do the same actually; and if you live somewhere they're playing in the near future...go see them.

Deerhoof on MySpace
Buy their most recent album - The Runners Four.