Last Wednesday night, I took my grandson, He Might Be Giant, to the Henry Fonda Musicbox Theater in Hollywood for Fever Ray’s last U.S. show from her current tour. It was HMBG’s first concert, which was very exciting for both of us. He became a Fever Ray fan when he spent his Spring Break with me back in April. I played the album for him, and he liked it so much I put the files on his mp3 player, and he has been listening to it ever since. This post covers the two opening acts for that show.

Nosaj Thing

Nosaj Thing is the project of electronic producer Jason Cheung of Los Angeles, who released his debut full-length, Drift in June. Performing as a one-man act with a computer, it’s a trick to keep the audience involved and attentive. Nosaj Thing does this by flicking his hands artfully over his boards in what can only be described as a dance, while his body rocks back and forth and he intermittently stares deeply into the screen of his Apple laptop.

At our show, Cheung began to play/perform his electronica/house jam, and then amazingly did not stop for a full 45 minutes, pausing only briefly in that time to take a sip of water. As a feat of endurance, this is admirable; but in my humble opinion, he actually could keep the audience’s attention better if he broke the set up. One of the skills of being a performer is modulating the timing and moods of the performance, and this was lacking in a set that just seemed to go on and on.

Click to embiggen thumbnails:

I am unable to make a setlist out of that performance, but I am pretty sure he started out with “Quest” and “Fog” from Drift. Somewhere in there I heard a bit of a cover of Portishead’s “Wandering Star.”

To learn more about Nosaj Thing, read this interview with Jason Cheung at the Shanghaiist
Nosaj Thing - Fog from Drift (2009)

MySpace | Website | Label: Alpha Pup
Buy at Amazon and eMusic

Vuk

Vuk is a Finnish-American artist whose real name is Emily Cheeger. She is a talented singer-songwriter who is well-versed with many instruments, including the theramin. She sometimes performs with a band, but in her shows opening for Fever Ray, she performed solo, accompanying herself on pump organ and autoharp.

I am not familiar enough with Vuk’s work to have been able to recognize her setlist, but I know that she performed this song:

Vuk - Gramophone and Periscope
from The Plains (no U.S. release)

Read an insightful interview with Vuk at Tastes Like Caramel

MySpace | About Vuk | Buy

Filed under: concert, Nosaj Thing, Vuk

• alt-gramma (371)
• indie.mom (395)
• Uncle T (7)