REVIEW: Tobacco / Lord Raja at BMH (3/31)

tobacco

The idea that a living musician “belongs” to a certain time might be the ultimate backhanded compliment one can give.

And, recipe as the many discarded drafts of this review can attest, viagra sale its kind of tough to explain without sounding kinda like an asshole.

Yes, Black Moth Super Rainbows taxidermy/seance in the Sun Lipsvideo will forever recall a time in 2010 when I was glued to my college radio stations computer screen, cobbling together Tim & Eric-inspired playlists of music videos with friends for our late night broadcasts. Its also true that 2010 was (somehow) six years ago (goddamn it) and Tobaccos gauzy, talk-boxed vocals feel like unearthing a binder of notes and doodles from Freshman year.

16-04-05-23-34-33-851_deco-11I understand that such a statement also implies that Tobacco and his psychedelic electronic ilk have not been relevant for over half a decade, but its also worth noting that this years SeeFu Lilac EP is the first new music from Black Moth Super Rainbow in almost four years. Despite the dormancy, Tobaccos solo set on Thursday showed nothing but vitality, even if some peoples collegiate, pseudo-stoner days are (thankfully) far in the past.

New Yorks Lord RAJA opened with a serviceable DJ set, combining his Adult Swim-approved glitch hop with syrupy remixes of Young Thug, Skepta, and Future. RAJA was joined by a hype man that, for a solid chunk of the set, was mistaken by at least half of the room for a stage crasher or performance artist. Up until retreating for drinks mid-set, the hype man flailed his left arm with the kind of awkward urgency of someone knowingly on camera at a Boiler Room set while remaining glued to his phone in the other hand. The mystery man/drink grabber served as a perfect representative to help wade Brighton Music Hall into RAJAs half club-ready, half experimental set, which knowingly never fully committed to one side or the other.

Joined by members of Black Moth Super Rainbow, Tobacco heralded the return of both his solo career and BMSRs with a heavy amount of new material from albums rumored to surface in the coming months. After opening in darkness on a new track that had Black Moth drummer Iffernaut competing against the beat with a giant gong, the three piece wasted no time in reintroducing their psychedelic joker selves. Images of disfigured CGI faces projected on the gong as their (in)famous love of surreal late night TV clips emerged in pixelated form within Tobaccos giant, lit-up logo.

Tobaccos unintelligible talk box between songs served as the shows only banter, making his set felt more like a DJ set for a smoke-filled basement party pushing curfew rather than a showcase of new songs. The trio sandwiched new songs between favorites Hairy CandyorHeavy Makeup seamlessly, exemplifying the bands ability to never find a bottom in their relatively unchanging bag of tricks.

Although dancing remained a constant, the room naturally erupted upon the first strains of Sun Lips, bringing a group of crusty dudes up front to pogo alongside tie-dyed college kids. While that image alone was worth admission, it was one of many that undid any sort of trappings of time surrounding Tobacco in my mind.

I doubt Ill ever hear Lipswithout feeling a twinge of shame over the same ratty cardigan I wore everyday my Freshman year, but with an ever-consistent arsenal of sun-damaged party anthems for fellow weirdos, Tobacco makes it worth considering extending 2010 for a few more years.