You may remember in our interview with Mr. Lockett Pundt last spring that he said he may play live, and if he did, he would try it in front of friends in Atlanta. Well, he’s done just that. Mucho propso to the Aquarium Drunkard to getting me hip to this recording from Tuesday night (originally posted at ol’ Bradford’s blog – Internet moves fast, ya’llz).

MP3 :::
Lotus Plaza – Live at the Eyedrum in Atlanta

Told ya the bootlegs would come fast. Yesterday’s Atlas Sound ATP set is provided below. Lots of new stuff, lots of jammage, lots of Bradford gabbin’ and trying to fix his shit on stage. Enjoy.

Also, my boi Nathaniel from IGIF is at All Tomorrows Parties NY right now (bastard) and he’s reporting that B Cox told the crowd later that night during the Deerhunter set that yesterday’s show will be the last for the group “in quite a while.” This might be disconcerting if you don’t consider the fact that “quite a while” in Deerhunter years probably means “a couple of months.” I’m sure attention will turn to Atlas Sound, Lotus Plaza, and whatever other side projects the dudes are instituting in the interim. Fear not (hopefully).

Logos is still set to come out on October 20, which will be a super Tuesday (new Tickley Feather and Do Make Say Think also drop that day), courtesy of muhfuckin’ Kranky. Considering how much free shit Bradford gives you, buy it when it’s out. Seriously, guys.

MP3 :::
Atlas Sound – All Tomorrows Parties, Kutscher’s, Monticello, NY, 9.12.09

Another bangin’ Deerhunter bootleg. This is a high-quality audience recording, taken from June of this year in Sydney. It comes to you courtesy of the groovy blog down under Bastard Squad (via Fuck Yeah, Deerhunter), which has an array of bootlegs from other great groups, as well as photos of pandas and other radness.

ZIP :::
Deerhunter – Annadale Hotel, Sydney (approx. 136 MB)

It’s worth noting immediately that the Round Robin Tour – Deerhunter, No Age, and Dan Deacon performing “in the round,” as it’s called – was one of the best times I’ve had at a show in recent memory. The show was intense yet lighthearted, and loud as hell throughout. The music, in all aspects, was simply impeccable. Case in point: I walked into the show more or less liking No Age and Dan Deacon, but not really feeling either way about them. As far as I was concerned, I was there for Deerhunter and that’s that. However, with solid, incredible performances by every act, my attitude was altered about 15 minutes into the show.

Of course, the comfortable nature of Newport’s historic Southgate House, with its balcony seating, cheap drinks, good air circulation, and general professional level of production played no small part in this as well. There were four opening acts for the headlining threesome (zomg! unintentional pr0nz). So, by my arithmetic, seven different artists played – all of whom had varying instrumentation that was probably challenging to mic and mix. Yet there was absolutely no change-over time. You were treated to music non-stop from 8 p.m. doors to 1 a.m. curfew. Tickets for this show were $10. That’s value you don’t get much too often in these economic times. So bravo to Southgate House for keeping the tickets low and the music rolling without a hitch. I love this venue.

The first act was already performing on the ballroom floor by the time we made it in (the line slithered all the way up to York Street). It was a mostly-female noise group whose name I did not catch, and were not terribly remarkable anyway. But I hadn’t had a highball in me yet, so maybe I was just being Grouchy Jones.

White Rainbow played next, and he was the best of the four openers. A menacing one-man sound machine, White Rainbow plays it just like I like it – simple drones building up to loud washes of gentle oscillations. Then he rips a funky guitar line, loops it, and builds a technicolor wall of sound. It was very reminiscent of Growing, whom I oft spring chub for. I wish his set was longer than the alloted 15 or 20 minutes he played. He’s got a new club banger coming out on Kranky in October called New Clouds. No doubt that shit will be tight.

The crowd was really into one-man act Ed Schrader. I still can’t figure out how I feel about him. I guess that’s challenging performance art in practice? And if that’s the case, does that mean he’s “good” or “artistically relevant” (cue Hipster Runoff)? Dressed in his Heavens Gate best (all white), Schrader banged on a tom and throatily sang surreal lyrics in rockabilly fashion. And that was it – drum, voice, and inter-song banter and antics. I felt like I had a confundus charm cast upon me during the jam. I dunno, maybe it was cool. I went and grabbed a cocktail in the middle of it. Shit confused Bloggins.

Infinite Body, in theory, was good, but very taxing to listen to at the height of anticipation for “No Deachunter.” After two rather excitable openers and the funky fresh brain rape from White Rainbow, it was very difficult for me to enjoy light space drone that seemingly went nowhere (though L-Train said she enjoyed him the most of the four openers). His lights were cool, though.

At this point, it was already 10:30 p.m., but we did not wait long for Deuce D to appear first, then the ‘Hunters, then the two Bro Agers. The show began with a three act collaboration on Deerhunter’s “Cyrptograms.” It didn’t sound terribly different with the others’ input, but it was certainly fuller. No Age added extra drums and guitar to the song’s climaxes, and Deacon sprinkled electronic flourishes where applicable. After “Cryptograms,” the three acts began to take turns playing their songs in order -  No Age, then Deacon, then back to Deerhunter. Most of the show operated in this fashion, and that was just fine with us.

No Age was impressive. As mentioned, I liked No Age going in, but never found them anything to write home about – ya know, on record, the collective act as a general noisy punk group who ocassionally throw in ambient tracks for continuity. Live, they’re a different beast; a firey, snarky acid punk juggernaut. The band, as a duo, was chunky, full, and clear. It’s amazing what a little reverberation and amplication on the drum kit will do to up the ante. Each song they played was compact and succinct, ripping though much of Nouns, and keeping it all punk as fuck. They catalyzed a lot of crowd surfing, which is rather unusual at most of the shows I go to. You could cut the intensity with a knife. I see now why No Age is not overrated.

Deerhunter definitely delivered the goods. They kept the improvisation to a minimum compared with other bootlegs I’ve listened to, but hey, they were sharing the show. No time for dickin’ around with effects pedals. More importantly, Deerhunter has developed into a tighter entity over the years. The group certainly isn’t just a collection of studio dudes, they’ve got chops, too, and hearing the zenith of “Nothing Ever Happened” over thousands of watts was boisterous and Biblical. The band kept their set pretty Microcastle heavy, delivering the aforemtnioned, as well as “Cover Me/Agoraphobia,” and “Never Stops.” Though I would’ve enjoyed some deeper cuts – anything off of Turn It Up, Faggot or the latest Rainwater Cassette Exchange, it was awesome hearing the bombastic rendition of the title track off Fluorescent Grey:

Dan Deacon, perhaps unsurprisingly, was the showman of the evening. A veritable PT Barnum, Deacon decorated the stage with his various contraband – party lights, battery-powered flood lamps (for passing around the crowd), a trippy green skull staring into your soul – and ripped right in to his Future Shock synth assault, including the infamous “The Crystal Cat.” Antics abounded, including ample audience participation and human architecture experiments… like the one below. Unfortunately, the camera’s memory card was full during the song’s climax so the video cuts off. But you get the jist – a Dan Deacon show is basically a carnival (or a carnivale):

The show ended the way it began, with a everybody-gather-’round performance of No Age’s “Everybody’s Down.” If you’re familiar with the song, you know about its quite-loud dynamic. When the song kicked in after a minute and a half, six guitars, two drummers, and a madman behind a green skull and various analogue equipment extended the four-chord progression for over five minutes, with guitarist Randy Randall handing over his divining rod to the audience to let everyone else get a strum in. The bands were noticably having a blast, the crowd was ecstatic, vibes were good… I couldn’t think of a complaint if I was paid to… except maybe for being unable to figure out what Ed Schrader’s all about.

The seven date Round Robin tour ends tonight in Milwaukee, so if you’re in the SoWisc/Chicagoland area, make haste. It will be worth a scalper’s price if ya gotta.

Major industrial-sized props are due in the direction of mah boi Jim Lerza and Emily Crothers, who, after hearing about my recent camera issues and lack of funds, donated one for us to use. Secondly, Lana again came correct on the photo tip and snapped some of the best of the set, which are included below. If you like her stuff, visit her Flickr – dissonantobjective.

More photos after the jump.

YANP’s Matty J doin’ what he do:
The setup:

UPDATE 8.4: While I’ve made some rather cute, possibly uncouth comments about the insane weather today in this entry, the flooding has gotten serious in Louisville. I’ve been adding news as I get it on The Decibel Tolls’ Twitter. Be careful out there, ya’ll.

Sweet sassy molassey! The concert event I’ve been waiting for all summer, Deerhunter, is tonight at the Southgate House in Newport! And I better not be stymied by our ill-tempered God in our attempt to hang tough with Braddy C, Lotus P, and the whole rabble rousin’ gang. As of right now, rather gnarly, apocalyptic weather abounds. WHAS is reporting that it’s all 1937 up in this bitch. I’m currently listening to NOAA weather radio, and to paraphrase, everything is “fucked” in Louisville as we speak, especially the suburbs on the Indiana side. Large stretches of the expressways are shut down, the buses are running 90 minutes behind schedule, and lots of mellows are harshed throughout the area. LEO Weekly’s Jonathan Meador has very good (and contextual) coverage of the insanity in the River City today on our news blog.

Here’s the garage of the main branch of the Louisville Free Public Library. Dude, it’s like Fahrenheit 451, but like, the opposite:

Churchill Downs now hosts water polo:

And here’s a visual aid representing what we’re driving in later this evening for Deerhunter times. Groovy:

Should be a wavy gravy time on the roads this evening. However, and this is important to you all reading this particular entry, northbound I-71 is golden. Deerhunter is one of the best bands ever, performing at one of the finest music venues in the nation. So I’m goin’, I don’t give a shit. I suggest you do the same if you’re traveling from Louisville as well. Eat it, Mother Nature.

Moreover, tonight’s performance is part of Deerhunter’s “Round Robin” tour wherein they’ve invited some friends to play along in collaboration, seamlessly weaving through each others songs. The Southgate rockshow is one of only seven dates that are part of this special showcase. The friends they’ve invited along are folks you might like, specifically the No Ages and the Dan Deacons. And that’s cool. But for me, all that matters is Rowdy Roddy B. Cox and Motherfuckin’ DEEEEEERHUNTERRRRR!!!!1!!11!!ones1!!! Tickets, I think, are sold out, but there are usually some friendly scalpers around The Levee should you need to resort to that. Perhaps they will trade you tickets some reliable umbrella technology.

See you there? In one piece?

P.S. – In other news, B Cox is totally hilarious and a rad bro, even when tripping on flu meds, as evidenced in this highly entertaining interview with Buddyhead:

MP3 :::
Deerhunter – Death Drag
Deerhunter – Octet
Deerhunter – Wash Off
Deerhunter – Little Kids
Lotus Plaza – Antoine
Atlas Sound – Ativan

When I’m thinking of material to write for my fake Billy Corgan Twitter (sorry if you’re tired of hearing about it, but it’s a constant source of inspiration and amusement), I often do research to see what he’s up to. Recently, Voldemort Corgan developed a “subscription” service, wherein for $40 a month, you get exclusive peeks into studio sessions and any wankery he’s got going on. Fuck that shit. Rock stars are dead. The inaccessible stage god (from both the “indie” realms and the arena rock world) has no room in our current information-saturated paradigm. This is one of the many reasons I love Bradford Cox – he gets that.

Cox and the rest of Deerhunter have always been exceptionally great about making themselves extremely accessible.  Of course, you can always count on a constant torrent of new songs, demos, and micromixes through the Deerhunter blog.  And interviewing Lotus Plaza a couple of weeks ago was as easy as emailing Brian at Kranky and saying “Love me some Floodlight Collective, hook it up.” I booked bands for a while, and you wouldn’t belive how prevalent the diva persona is. Deerhunter doesn’t roll like that, and I really, really dig it.

I recently jumped on Fickr because Lanabear opened an account to share her knitting projects and photography, and it seems like a good place to stash my various graphic design work and any horrible things I see on 4chan. Sho’ ’nuff, Mr. Cox is also on Flickr, all of his pictures are public, and you get a real glimse inside Deerhunter – everything from the equipment they use (photo above – I want that Roland sampler), to different versions of album artwork, to hanging out with their best bros, to… well, just about anything that a Deerhunter fan would find interesting. Maybe it’s only interesting to me – I dunno. You should be aware by now that Kenny Bloggins is fo’ realz gay for Bradford Cox. WEB 2.0 LOL

Finally, according to the Deerhunter Forum, this may be the oldest live video in existence – circa 2005 at Atlanta’s The Earl. The sound quality isn’t great, but it’s cool to see nonetheless:

MP3 :::
Deerhunter – Famous Last Words

Lockett Pundt is one of the guitarists and songwriters for the only hyped group fully deserving of said hype, Deerhunter. He’s also the band’s understated musical force. A lot is made of both Bradford Cox’s serious songwriting prowess and his on or off-stage antics. While Cox’s Atlas Sound extracts his signature sound from the Deerhunter burgoo, showcasing where the group gets their vivid lyrics and rigid pop structure, Pundt’s Lotus Plaza pinpoints where Deerhunter’s liquid, dreamy textures originate.

The Floodlight Collective is Lotus Plaza’s debut album, and it’s so fucking good.  The generally reserved Pundt was kind enough to take a few minutes out of the insanely productive Deerhunter schedule and discuss the origins of Lotus Plaza and the recording process.

KB: First, I want to congratulate you on getting this album out – it’s really incredible. I know many of the songs that ended up on The Floodlight Collective have been around for quite some time. What’s the origin story with Lotus Plaza and this album?

LP: Thank you! I guess the origin was when I started recording songs by myself during the last year of high school. I received a four-track for my birthday and tried to write songs. I have been doing it ever since. There wasn’t any real name to go with the songs I made until a few years ago. We all had kind of a pseudonym in Deerhunter and mine was lotus plaza. Around the same time, being Cryptograms era, I started to write a lot of the songs that would eventually go on the record. I had no real intention of making anything for an album really until my friends asked me what I was going to do with the songs. I hadn’t thought of releasing an album myself, but I was into the idea. I was kind of scared but I’m glad it worked out how it did.

KB: How does the songwriting and recording processes differ between Lotus Plaza and the full-band Deerhunter, save for the number of people of course?

LP: Most of the songs I write, I try to make them for Deerhunter. Songs that don’t really feel like they would fit are what end up being something that I might use. Like if the songs are too sample heavy or have more simultaneous instruments than there are members of Deerhunter, then I might end up using them. My songs are more of a recording project. I don’t really imagine the songs live as I’m recording them. Deerhunter songs have to have a live setting in mind during creation. You can’t add that sixth guitar track since it can’t be done in on stage with two guitars.

KB: The Floodlight Collective was an old band you were in, I understand. What made you decide on this name for your first solo effort?

LP: It was an experience that seemed to really initiate my desire to actually create and play music. I was a little unsure of my ability to do anything other than flub around on my Squire II Stratocaster and Crate GX-15 amp. It was the first time that I had really played music with a band full of people. I loved doing it on my own before but it seemed more of a fantasy to actually do it in a band setting. I don’t know to explain it properly other than it made music seemed that it was something I was capable of doing. I wasn’t so sure before I suppose.

KB: On the Deerhunter blog, it seems that “Dot/Gain” originated under the Lotus Plaza moniker but ended up, of course, on Weird Era Cont. Are there other songs in the catalog that started as you but ended up as Deerhunter?

LP:  No, not really. That was kind of a one time thing.

KB: Gotcha. So, I’m really fascinated by the tonality and lushness on a lot of the album, especially “Antoine.” I know that Panda Bear has said that Person Pitch was almost entirely created on the Boss SP-303 sampler and an 8-track. What does the Pundt gear arsenal look like?

LP: Well, I just got some new stuff actually. I used a computer to record the record almost entirely. The title track is actually all four track samples from drone tapes I made over the years, but even then it was turned into a MIDI sample and played on a keyboard into my computer. I have since stopped using it. I wanted to go back to tapes. I didn’t know that he recorded that album on an 8 track. I just bought one that records 8 tracks onto cassette, the Tascam 688. I love it! I hope to record my next album on it. You’re definitely limited as far as effects and processing options without the computer, but I think I’m ready for a change.

KB: Any chance of a Lotus Plaza tour?

LP: Who knows. I don’t think i would be a very entertaining show to watch. I think I’m going to play some shows here in Atlanta and take things from there.

KB:  Finally, what albums have blown your mind lately?

LP: I haven’t been blown away by anything too much recently. I bought this one Harmonia album, Musik Von Harmonia, that I hadn’t heard before and I love it. Another one that I have been getting back into recently after a long break from it is Ash Ra Tempel’s New Age of Earth. Completely amazing…

Lotus Plaza’s The Floodlight Collective is available now courtesy of the good folks at Kranky.

MP3 :::
Lotus Plaza – A Threaded Needle
Deerhunter – Circulation (Live @ Noise Pop)

O JUNK YA’LLZ!!1 I’VE BEEN SOOOO BAKED 2DAY I ALMOST 4GOT TO PUT 2GETHER A MIX FOR 420. I’M LIKE THAT ADULTERER IN THE BIBLE STORY… LOVE TO GET STONED, KNOW WUT I’M SAYING?!?!?! NAH I’M JUST KIDDING.

N-E WAYZ, 420 IS MAH FAVORITE HOLIDAY AND I CELEBRATE IT EVERY YEAR B/C I FEEL IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE LEGALIZE THE GANJ. GRASS HELPS ME AND OTHER PPL FIND OUT THE TRUTH IN THINGS. AND U KNOW WHAT? MAN, I’LL TELL YOU WHAT THE REAL CRIME IS… IT’S WHEN OUR FASCIST GOVERNMENT TELL US… WAIT, MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT DERAILED. O WELL, LOL. BUT YEAH, AS I SAID EARLIER I MADE YA’LLZ A MIX TO BRING IN THE HOLIDAY RIGHT. ALSO, IF U WANT TO SMOKE GRASS BUT CAN’T ROLL A DEECE J, HERE’S HOW TO MAKE A GRAVITY BONG WITH HOUSEHOLD ITEMS. PEACE.

For this classroom activity, you will need:
- Kitchen mop bucket (preferably unused or at least thoroughly washed)
- a 2-liter bottle
- Sink faucet screen with nut (the lil’ doo-dad where the water comes out)
- Aluminum foil
- Knife or scissors
- Access to municipal tap water, yo

THIS IS 4 TOBACCO USE ONLY, THO, SO DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME WITH N-E THING ELSE *WIIINKZ NUDGE*

Fill bucket about 3/4 with water. Cut four small incisions at the bottom of the plastic bottle. Remove bottle cap, replace with sink screen and nut, and pad bottle nozzle tightly with aluminum foil (don’t want any of the tobackee smoke *wiiink* to get out).  Fill screen with your favorite flavored tobacco. Push bottle toward bottom of bucket. Light tobacco and slowly pull bottle up out of water. Remove cap, put mouth on bottle nozzle then slowly start pushing bottle back down into bucket while inhaling. And viola! ENJOI YR. FINE AMERICAN GROWN TOBACCO PRODUCTS LOLZ.

IF YA’LLZ HAVE N-E ?’S U CAN HIT ME UP ON AIM MY SCREENNAME IS SMOAK420

If you do get busted by the po-lice for enjoyin’ the finer things in life, tell them that you got these gravity “tobacco” bong instructions from Gorilla Vs. Bear, ya know what I’m sayin’.

MP3 :::
Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso UFO – Ange Mecanique De Saturne
Magik Markers – There is No Path Which is Not Straight
Loop – Fade Out
Comets on Fire – Jaybird
Pink Floyd – Astronomy Domine
Darker My Love – I Feel Fine
The Byrds – Space Odyssey
Landing – Gravitational 2
Cloudland Canyon – Mothlight Part 1
Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Gettin’ High in the Morning
The Black Angels – Snake in the Grass
13th Floor Elevators – Slip Inside This House
Deerhunter – Octet
Frank Zappa – Flower Punk

Ever since the unfortunate circumstances surrounding Microcastle’s premier, the folks of Deerhunter seem to have been keeping their progress shrouded from the public eye (can you blame them?). The absence of updates on their blog has left many geeks like myself to speculate on what they may be cooking up, but now we have our answer! Next month, Deerhunter are set to release their new EP Rainwater Cassette Exchange on Kranky!  This five-track offering was recorded at the Rare Book Room with with producer Nicolas Verhes.

We first heard the title track “Rainwater Cassette Exchange,” during their mind bending set at the Noise Pop Festival last month. The finished version is pleasantly effected and spacious, furthering Cox’s obsession with doo-wop and 60’s girl groups and bringing in lo-fi psych elements from their Unrequited Narcissist tape. These guys could’ve been the Xanadu house band. Also looking forward to hearing the studio versions of “Disappearing Ink” and “Famous Last Words” which seem to reinterpret teenage fascinations with Pavement and Stereolab. Given that Cox and the gang’s track record has allowed us to get super psyched about every release so far and never get let down, I highly doubt this is going to be any different. The CD and Vinyl are set to drop via digital download May 18th and will be available on CD and Vinyl June 8th on Kranky Records. The track listing for for Rainwater Cassette Exchange is as follows:

01. Rainwater Cassette Exchange
02. Disappearing Ink
03. Famous Last Words
04. Game of Diamonds
05. Circulation

MP3 :::
Deerhunter – Rainwater Cassette Exchange
Deerhunter – Disappearing Ink (Live @ Noise Pop Festival, San Francisco)

Deerhunter played last week in my favorite city in the nation, San Francisco, at Noise Pop.  Deerhunter’s entire performance is available above, which is exciting for me as Deerhunter is one of, like, maybe three new-ish bands that I care about and are 110% worth a damn.  The show sounds real good, though it’s weird not hearing B. Cox’s voice liquified by swells of reverb.