An Experimental Night with Foxes in Fiction at Rancho Relaxo

Date of show: September 9, 2010
Shot of choice: Crown Royal

I wish I could come up with a description of Foxes in Fiction that would do Warren Hildebrand justice. He plays guitar in addition to a fairly elaborate set up, including tape recording. His breed of experimental music comes with pop sensibilities that create quite the dreamy type of atmosphere. The moment Hildebrand started his set, it was evident just how creative this young man is. As his set progressed, he seemed to come out of his shell more and more. We started to get more of a feel of his personality and he was actually dancing in the end. Some of the crowd, presumably his friends, started to dance as well.

I must say that Hildebrand is the first to want a shot before his set. That was pretty refreshing and we hope the whiskey is what enabled him to be able to loosen up a little once he became less worried about the initial technical difficulties.

Foxes in Fiction recently received some acclaim from Pitchfork and he’s been frequently compared to Bradford Cox. Foxes in Fiction released an album on cassette earlier this year, which can be downloaded here. Hildebrand also runs a cassette label called Orchid Tapes. He also frequently updates his website/blog with downloads, so be sure to check those out. That Warren Hildebrand, he’s a nice and very talented guy and we all recommend you catch Foxes in Fiction live. Buy him a shot too!

Derbert Plaza

Derbert Plaza plays an interesting style of music. They make spacey almost dreamlike experimental music with tricky time signature changes that make their talent with their respective instruments quite evident. However, they also make showcase a heavier sound, with powerful vocals, almost screaming at times. The intense drumming from Andrew Bardauskas phases between rock and roll and something a little heavier that is almost hardcore at times. The synths, guitar and vocals from Vul Gary (Luke) bring a much more experimental element. At times it almost sounded as though the guys were playing two different songs but I think that’s just part of how it sounded live; I don’t seem to get that impression when listening to their recorded music.

What is evident about this duo is how well they work together. They sound much bigger live than just two people. They released an EP last year, which can be found on their bandcamp, and, according to their MySpace, they’re looking to record again soon.

DC Mini

DC Mini, at first glance, appeared to be a pair of vocalists singing along to pre-recorded music, much like karaoke. However, I quickly realized there was a third band member behind the sheet with which images were being projected that was on synths and a turntable. I can tell you that DC Mini was all about sensory awareness, as in addition to the music and projected images they were also burning incense.

I’m not going to say a lot about this band because they were clearly inexperienced, at least in the live sense. The vocalists, male and female (forgive me for not knowing any names; they don’t even have a MySpace), were reading their lyrics from a fair-sized white poster at their feet. That should give you an idea of what I mean about inexperienced. I do have to hand it to them, though, for their creativity in creating an atmosphere for their set.