Moon Duo – Live – “Stumbling 22nd Street”, Feb 12, 2010, Synchronicity, Los Angeles, CA from Samantha Cornwell on Vimeo.
Earlier this week, we posted a video that I shot at Synchronicity Space in Los Angeles of Pocahaunted giving a rousing, shamanistic performance. At the same show, I also had the pleasure of seeing — and taping — San Francisco’s Moon Duo.
The pace of festivities that evening was quite long-winded, so the band didn’t even take the stage until 1am. By that time, sadly enough, most of the crowd had dissipated. I took advantage of the situation and set up my camera in a space where I was free from obstructions. I was still on a high from taping Pocahaunted earlier, and was hoping to keep riding on the same buzz. Although I had heard and enjoyed the music of Moon Duo before, I really didn’t know what to expect from a live performance.
For me, Moon Duo’s sound is quite evocative. I like to imagine myself racing to the beach on a motorcycle and setting up a huge bonfire. Or perhaps I’m in some smoke-filled backroom circa 1975? Maybe Iggy Pop is there. Either way, their visceral psychedelic guitar rock transports me to another time and place. Their stage show, however, is in stark contrast to this. Their movements are very minimal, even awkward at points. Ripley, the guitarist and vocalist, makes eye contact with the audience on occasion, but only as a means of delivering his lyrics. Sanae, the keyboardist, rocks back and forth as if she were in some sort of isolation chamber, trying to lull herself to sleep. In some ways, this is an anti-performance. When filming their set, I felt more inclined to project video onto them than I did to shoot them. At the time I found the sight of Moon Duo jarring, but now I think they might have the right idea. They know their music is strong enough to transport you, so why have some aggressive image stand in the way?
Video: Samantha Cornwell
Words: Samantha Corwell
Can’t believe this was the same show as Pocahaunted, what a great night out. Sorry to hear not many were left when Moon Duo went on, would kill to see them. Wooden Shjips/Moon Duo are an extremely rare sighting on the east coast. Great video as usual.