November 18, 2008 at the Music Hall of Williamsburg
photo credit:
Elizabeth Payne
If there’s anything The Secret Machines learned while on tour with U2, it’s that 3-D is still very, very cool. Bono and company may have revived the ‘80s trend with a larger than life three-dimensional IMAX production, but last night in Brooklyn at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, the Secret Machines housed a similarly prismatic effect — in the flesh. 3-D glasses were passed out to concert-goers, just moments before the outer-space rockers took the stage. Even the most elite of hipsters couldn’t resist, donning the stellar geekwear with pride.
The effects of three dimensional visuals could be detected before the heavy rainbow strobes even began. Strips of white rubber latex draped like a three-sided canopy overtop the trio’s set, allowed every color to transmit from the light spectrum in its true and vibrant form like a real-life refracting prism. The Secret Machines are known best for their brooding krautrock performances, massive Floydian crescendo and most recently as pioneers of the social networking bandwagon. The psychedelic mavericks have taken their progressive nature a step further, finding themselves in rainbows, with a new guitar player in tow. Without necessarily encouraging experimental drug use, TSM share their discoveries of what’s behind those locked doors by providing fans with a set of kaleidoscope eyes. A photographer’s flash only enhanced the vivid trip.
Three songs into the set, the rose-colored glasses came off. “You’re Gone”, a haunting ballad from their latest self-titled release, demonstrated front man Brandon Curtis’ vocal maturation, as he pounded away at the keys. “The Walls Are Starting to Crack”, another new track spanning just over ten minutes, mesmerized the crowd with the hypnotic wails of Phil Karnats’ guitar. “Atomic Heels” the anticipated first single with an equally spellbinding video set to accompany, revitalized the still-for-a-moment energy with power-stomp drum and bass. The unreleased masterpiece “Dreaming of Dreaming” was a spiritualized flow of heavy-on-the-kickdrums, characteristic of drummer Josh Garza’s typical beat.
Much like the Oct. 18th Webster Hall gig that kicked off the current North American tour, the set list was heavy on their latest and oldest material. While the machines may have had a few screws loose during their own opener as Karnats struggled to keep his guitar in check, their overall performance remained electro-charged through the encore, “Nowhere Again” as they bade Brooklyn psychedelia farewell, finishing the tour in their own ‘hood.
Aside from the hit single “Lightning Blue Eyes”, and the melodrama of “Alone, Jealous, and Stoned” not much else was played from sophomore album, Ten Silver Drops. Also missing that night were fellow prog-rockers TK Webb, who opened for TSM the first leg of the tour. Joining the band in the ‘burg to wrap up the jaunt were TV on the Radio’s current project, Dragons of Zynth. Although DOZ were slightly DOA, the mood was elevated when the lead singer jumped into the pit of five or six bystanders, knocking a beer out of one lucky winner’s hand. The Bloc Party on Acid uber-hip quartet surely has a promising future as a TVOTR cover band, if all else fails.
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