Random observations on dancing at Vegoose and elsewhere:
photographs by Timothy Norris
Shins fans don't dance. I know this because it was at the beginning of this show that I first discovered that my wristband was in fact MAGIC and offered me backstage access. And free food. And free cocktails. And free hookers. So I walked confidently past security and within thirty seconds I was standing backstage as the Shins, cute as buttons and dressed as chess pieces, performed one of their gentle little ditties. I was ten feet away. My verdict: I would think it would be a little depressing to be the Shins and watch their crowd not dance. Seldom, in fact, move a muscle. Out in front of them, a sea of stationary heads. A few bobble heads, sure. But the asses, they don't wiggle. They must have read Sasha Frere-Jones' recent New Yorker diatribe.
Lame camera phone shot by Roberts backstage at the Stooges.
The best onstage dancers, better than M.I.A.'s, were the S-1Ws, who, for the past two decades, have been Public Enemy's security team/onstage dance troupe. Dressed in fatigues and sporting thousand-yard-stares and deep, resigned frowns, the two troops stood on opposite sides of the stage and did the Minimal Mambo, which is what David Foster Wallace calls his variation of it in Infinite Jest. Basically, stand like a statue and do not move but for the vaguest little pinky flick to the rhythm. The S-1Ws do a variation involving basically one arm movement maybe every thirty seconds. It's a deliberate, militaristic maneuver, and packs a punch.
Iggy salutes the crowd while our hero, Mike Watt, pushes Fun House forward.
I've been seeing a lot of fist pumping at many different kinds of shows. Like weird, nearly fascistic fist pumping. At Mastodon, at the Queens of the Stone Age, a lot of it at Justice a few weeks back at the Fonda in L.A. At Daft Punk people were flat-out dancing – and jumping and freaking and rolling and fucking and Losing Their Proverbial Shit -- but the fists were all in the air, hitting lockstep with the kick drum. At a performance by the reigning worst band in the world, Infected Mushroom, lead singer Erez Eisen pumped his fist the whole time. When it's just a few people, it's not as evident. But when you're standing side stage as the Stooges kick out “Dirt”and all these dudes all amped up and pumping their fists, it really starts to look like a Youth March of some sort. I guess it's just a show of unity, but it's kind of scary, especially these ambivalent days. When you see the youth and they're saluting so forcefully, you worry about who's taking them where. Hopefully it's Daft Punk and not Infected Mushroom.
Notifications
Archives
Blogroll
- Buzz Bands
- Danceblogga
- None Louder
- Blabbermouth
- Aquarium Drunkard
- Brooklyn Vegan
- Coolfer
- The Daily Swarm
- The Hype Machine
- LA Underground
- LA Record
- Music for Robots
- Passion of the Weiss
- Resident Advisor
- The Rest is Noise
- Radio Free Silver Lake
- Soul Sides
- Stereogum
- Todd Burns
- You Set the Scene
- Amoeba LA's Cluba de Esquina
HeadLines
Most …
-
L.A. Opera’s $14 Million Imbroglio Superstar Plácido Domingo pushes the company closer to worldwide acclaim — and financial collapse
-
Rodney Alcala: The Fine Art of Killing One man’s murderous romp through polite society
-
Weed mags sprout across LOS ANGELES Publications reap windfall from pot ads
-
Living off the Grid When life takes you out of your house and into your car
-
Eli's Egoland? A billionaire twisted arms to use public land for luxury shops. Now Eli Broad wants to put his art there
CoverStory
NationalBlogs
-
Topless Robot
Mo' Lego Single Figures, Mo' Problems
02/09/10 4:31pm -
Heartless Doll
What Would Courtney Love Do? Valentine's Day
02/09/10 11:00am -
Joystick Division
Mass Effect 2: Cerberus Courtesy Weapon and Armor
02/09/10 1:00pm -
Daily Fork
McDonald's New Italian Burgers Actually Sound Delicious
02/09/10 11:30am -
True Crime Report
Susan Powell Disappearance: Her Parents Finally Turn on Husband Josh Powell
02/09/10 4:03pm -
Toke of the Town
Hawaii Marijuana Patients Want Dispensaries, More Plants
02/09/10 1:03pm -
Voice Film
Sundance Post-Mortem
02/02/10 3:06pm
SpecialIssues
BestOf
Top Stories
-
BONDAGE AND BURLESQUE
David Gueringer presents an erotically charged mix of... JOSH "CURIOUSJOSH" REISS
-
SUNDANCE'S REBEL YELL
The festival goes back to its roots or does it? BY KARINA LONGWORTH
-
MONET'S BRISKETS: BLUDSOS
At Compton BBQ joint, meat is high art. BY JONATHAN GOLD
-
L.A. WEEKLY WEB AWARDS
Full of so much win. BY ERIN BROADLEY
Daily Blogs
- Residents Protest Massive Westside DevelopmentTue., Feb 9 '10 @ 12:57PM
- Credit Agencies Warn City On BudgetTue., Feb 9 '10 @ 11:32AM
- RZA Discusses Dressing Up Like George Washington:...Tue., Feb 9 '10 @ 1:45PM
- Passion of the Weiss Releases Ace Winter Mixtape [MP3]Tue., Feb 9 '10 @ 12:37PM
- Love is in the Aisles: A Valentine's Day Mixer at...Tue., Feb 9 '10 @ 2:02PM
- Baking Whoopie: A New Whoopie Pie Online BakeryTue., Feb 9 '10 @ 1:48PM
- Ghost in the Shell vs. Sealab 2021 Mash-UpTue., Feb 9 '10 @ 7:28AM
- Five Steampunk Mice (And One Hideous Taxidermy...Tue., Feb 9 '10 @ 4:37AM
News
Sending Trutanich to His Corner
by Gene Maddaus
Carmen Trutanich, the bulky and bullheaded city attorney, has been in office... More >>
-
Eli's Egoland?
So sorry, Santa Monica. Apologies, Beverly Hills. The jewel you have coveted and negotiated for — billionaire Eli Broad's proposed museum,... More >>
-
Public Unwelcome at Grand Avenue
Waiting for Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jan Perry to show up last week was like waiting for the glitzy Grand Avenue hotel-shop-condos project... More >>
-
VANS ARE NOT ALWAYS SNEAKERS
Last week's cover story on people living in their vehicles ("Living off the Grid: When life takes you out of your house and into your car," by... More >>
- Residents Protest Massive Westside DevelopmentTue Feb 9, @ 12:57PM
- Credit Agencies Warn City On BudgetTue Feb 9, @ 11:32AM
- 'Save the Peak:' Deal In Place To Preserve Land...Tue Feb 9, @ 6:00AM
Music
Little Boxes
by David Cotner
Ten years ago, Nebraska expatriate and avant-minimalist composer Christiaan... More >>
-
The Nonsound of IAMSOUND
Only 26 when she launched the L.A.-based IAMSOUND label in 2006, Niki Robertson had been an A&R talent scout for U.K. label Parlophone and was... More >>
-
BOOM, BOOM, OW! SURVIVING GRAMMY...
View more photos in Lina Lecaro's "Nightranger Hits the Grammy Scene" slideshow. With a couple exceptions, "music's biggest night" was again... More >>
-
Rock Picks: Daedelus, Beth...
Friday/February/5Daedelus, Nosaj Thing, Jogger at the Echoplex We've heard rumors that Pasadena bass-head Nosaj Thing may be releasing his... More >>
- RZA Discusses Dressing Up Like George Washington:...Tue Feb 9, @ 1:45PM
- Passion of the Weiss Releases Ace Winter Mixtape [MP3]Tue Feb 9, @ 12:37PM
- IAMSOUND Launches 7-inch Series Ft. Nosaj Thing,...Tue Feb 9, @ 11:30AM
Restaurants
Monet's Briskets: Bludso’s
by Jonathan Gold
If the fires are burning high and you turn up at the right time of day, the... More >>
-
Lapp Trance
Dear Mr. Gold: A friend went back to Wisconsin for the holidays and returned with a bounty of cheesy treats. I was introduced to... More >>
-
W Is for Brasserie
When food people visit New York, they may check out what David Chang or Mario Batali are up to, contemplate a fancy French meal and swing by the... More >>
-
Lazy Ox Canteen: Where's bäco?
View more photos in Anne Fishbein's "Lazy Ox Canteen" photo gallery.If you are a man who enjoys a little Black Sabbath with his dinner, the new... More >>
- Love is in the Aisles: A Valentine's Day Mixer at...Tue Feb 9, @ 2:02PM
- Baking Whoopie: A New Whoopie Pie Online BakeryTue Feb 9, @ 1:48PM
- The McItaly: How Do You Say 'I'm NOT Loving It' in...Tue Feb 9, @ 12:38PM
Film
Sundance's Rebel Yell
by KARINA LONGWORTH
On a frigid Sunday night at the end of the Sundance Film Festival's first... More >>
-
Yippee Ki Yay, Fils de Putain
As personal assistant to the U.S. ambassador to France, James Reese (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) can keep himself in well-tailored suits and keep his... More >>
-
Czeching Out at the Silent Movie...
The further we get from it, the clearer it seems that the Age of the Waves — the '60s and '70s, roughly demarcated — was film... More >>
-
Rainy Sunday
The rain that sheets down in nearly every scene of Robert Hamer's 1947 It Always Rains on Sunday is as much a psychological phenomenon as a... More >>
- Sundance Post-MortemTue Feb 2, @ 3:06PM
- Catfish: the ultimate YouTube movieFri Jan 29, @ 6:51PM
- The Kids Are Alright -- and this gay marriage...Fri Jan 29, @ 1:49PM
Art
A Paranoid in Reverse:...
by F.x. Feeney
If originality is, as Vladimir Nabokov suggests, the true measure of greatness... More >>
-
Matter's Most
Some people have it rough. Born into the East Coast cultural aristocracy in 1913, Mercedes Matter began life as a beloved and privileged... More >>
-
Tom LaDuke at Angles Gallery
Asking about the "seeming conflict, or antagonism, between painting's representational function and its self-reflection," the art historian and... More >>
-
The Bish, The Fish and The...
Ginny Bishton is an artist who defies expectations. Or rather, completely dismantles them, leaving their components arranged in neat rows. One... More >>
- Ghost in the Shell vs. Sealab 2021 Mash-UpTue Feb 9, @ 7:28AM
- Five Steampunk Mice (And One Hideous Taxidermy...Tue Feb 9, @ 4:37AM
- Stage Raw: Why Torture is WrongMon Feb 8, @ 3:14PM
The Ads
All of our offline ads, online.
Ads, Special Issues, Flipbook
Special Issues
We present several issues where we highlight our premier clients. Here's the top providers of goods and services in your area.
- X-Games GuideFri, Apr 25 '08 12:41pm
- VH1 GuideMon, Jul 7 '08 12:05pm
- The Rolling Paper - Medical Marijuana Guide Wed, Feb 3 '10 2:08pm
LikeMe »
House of BluesWest Hollywood, CA |
The Magic CastleL.A., CA |
Urth CaffeBeverly Hills, CA |
Your Favorite Places
Even if you haven't been to them yet.
Sign up to discover tried and tested places to eat, drink, dance, shop and explore - in the city you live in, and the cities you visit.
HeadLines
Most …
-
L.A. Opera’s $14 Million Imbroglio Superstar Plácido Domingo pushes the company closer to worldwide acclaim — and financial collapse
-
Rodney Alcala: The Fine Art of Killing One man’s murderous romp through polite society
-
Weed mags sprout across LOS ANGELES Publications reap windfall from pot ads
-
Living off the Grid When life takes you out of your house and into your car
-
Eli's Egoland? A billionaire twisted arms to use public land for luxury shops. Now Eli Broad wants to put his art there
CoverStory
NationalBlogs
-
Topless Robot
Mo' Lego Single Figures, Mo' Problems
02/09/10 4:31pm -
Heartless Doll
What Would Courtney Love Do? Valentine's Day
02/09/10 11:00am -
Joystick Division
Mass Effect 2: Cerberus Courtesy Weapon and Armor
02/09/10 1:00pm -
Daily Fork
McDonald's New Italian Burgers Actually Sound Delicious
02/09/10 11:30am -
True Crime Report
Susan Powell Disappearance: Her Parents Finally Turn on Husband Josh Powell
02/09/10 4:03pm -
Toke of the Town
Hawaii Marijuana Patients Want Dispensaries, More Plants
02/09/10 1:03pm -
Voice Film
Sundance Post-Mortem
02/02/10 3:06pm
SpecialIssues
BestOf
Top Stories
-
BONDAGE AND BURLESQUE
David Gueringer presents an erotically charged mix of... JOSH "CURIOUSJOSH" REISS
-
SUNDANCE'S REBEL YELL
The festival goes back to its roots or does it? BY KARINA LONGWORTH
-
MONET'S BRISKETS: BLUDSOS
At Compton BBQ joint, meat is high art. BY JONATHAN GOLD
-
L.A. WEEKLY WEB AWARDS
Full of so much win. BY ERIN BROADLEY
Daily Blogs
- Residents Protest Massive Westside DevelopmentTue., Feb 9 '10 @ 12:57PM
- Credit Agencies Warn City On BudgetTue., Feb 9 '10 @ 11:32AM
- RZA Discusses Dressing Up Like George Washington:...Tue., Feb 9 '10 @ 1:45PM
- Passion of the Weiss Releases Ace Winter Mixtape [MP3]Tue., Feb 9 '10 @ 12:37PM
- Love is in the Aisles: A Valentine's Day Mixer at...Tue., Feb 9 '10 @ 2:02PM
- Baking Whoopie: A New Whoopie Pie Online BakeryTue., Feb 9 '10 @ 1:48PM
- Ghost in the Shell vs. Sealab 2021 Mash-UpTue., Feb 9 '10 @ 7:28AM
- Five Steampunk Mice (And One Hideous Taxidermy...Tue., Feb 9 '10 @ 4:37AM
News
Sending Trutanich to His Corner
by Gene Maddaus
Carmen Trutanich, the bulky and bullheaded city attorney, has been in office... More >>
-
Eli's Egoland?
So sorry, Santa Monica. Apologies, Beverly Hills. The jewel you have coveted and negotiated for — billionaire Eli Broad's proposed museum,... More >>
-
Public Unwelcome at Grand Avenue
Waiting for Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jan Perry to show up last week was like waiting for the glitzy Grand Avenue hotel-shop-condos project... More >>
-
VANS ARE NOT ALWAYS SNEAKERS
Last week's cover story on people living in their vehicles ("Living off the Grid: When life takes you out of your house and into your car," by... More >>
- Residents Protest Massive Westside DevelopmentTue Feb 9, @ 12:57PM
- Credit Agencies Warn City On BudgetTue Feb 9, @ 11:32AM
- 'Save the Peak:' Deal In Place To Preserve Land...Tue Feb 9, @ 6:00AM
Music
Little Boxes
by David Cotner
Ten years ago, Nebraska expatriate and avant-minimalist composer Christiaan... More >>
-
The Nonsound of IAMSOUND
Only 26 when she launched the L.A.-based IAMSOUND label in 2006, Niki Robertson had been an A&R talent scout for U.K. label Parlophone and was... More >>
-
BOOM, BOOM, OW! SURVIVING GRAMMY...
View more photos in Lina Lecaro's "Nightranger Hits the Grammy Scene" slideshow. With a couple exceptions, "music's biggest night" was again... More >>
-
Rock Picks: Daedelus, Beth...
Friday/February/5Daedelus, Nosaj Thing, Jogger at the Echoplex We've heard rumors that Pasadena bass-head Nosaj Thing may be releasing his... More >>
- RZA Discusses Dressing Up Like George Washington:...Tue Feb 9, @ 1:45PM
- Passion of the Weiss Releases Ace Winter Mixtape [MP3]Tue Feb 9, @ 12:37PM
- IAMSOUND Launches 7-inch Series Ft. Nosaj Thing,...Tue Feb 9, @ 11:30AM
Restaurants
Monet's Briskets: Bludso’s
by Jonathan Gold
If the fires are burning high and you turn up at the right time of day, the... More >>
-
Lapp Trance
Dear Mr. Gold: A friend went back to Wisconsin for the holidays and returned with a bounty of cheesy treats. I was introduced to... More >>
-
W Is for Brasserie
When food people visit New York, they may check out what David Chang or Mario Batali are up to, contemplate a fancy French meal and swing by the... More >>
-
Lazy Ox Canteen: Where's bäco?
View more photos in Anne Fishbein's "Lazy Ox Canteen" photo gallery.If you are a man who enjoys a little Black Sabbath with his dinner, the new... More >>
- Love is in the Aisles: A Valentine's Day Mixer at...Tue Feb 9, @ 2:02PM
- Baking Whoopie: A New Whoopie Pie Online BakeryTue Feb 9, @ 1:48PM
- The McItaly: How Do You Say 'I'm NOT Loving It' in...Tue Feb 9, @ 12:38PM
Film
Sundance's Rebel Yell
by KARINA LONGWORTH
On a frigid Sunday night at the end of the Sundance Film Festival's first... More >>
-
Yippee Ki Yay, Fils de Putain
As personal assistant to the U.S. ambassador to France, James Reese (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) can keep himself in well-tailored suits and keep his... More >>
-
Czeching Out at the Silent Movie...
The further we get from it, the clearer it seems that the Age of the Waves — the '60s and '70s, roughly demarcated — was film... More >>
-
Rainy Sunday
The rain that sheets down in nearly every scene of Robert Hamer's 1947 It Always Rains on Sunday is as much a psychological phenomenon as a... More >>
- Sundance Post-MortemTue Feb 2, @ 3:06PM
- Catfish: the ultimate YouTube movieFri Jan 29, @ 6:51PM
- The Kids Are Alright -- and this gay marriage...Fri Jan 29, @ 1:49PM
Art
A Paranoid in Reverse:...
by F.x. Feeney
If originality is, as Vladimir Nabokov suggests, the true measure of greatness... More >>
-
Matter's Most
Some people have it rough. Born into the East Coast cultural aristocracy in 1913, Mercedes Matter began life as a beloved and privileged... More >>
-
Tom LaDuke at Angles Gallery
Asking about the "seeming conflict, or antagonism, between painting's representational function and its self-reflection," the art historian and... More >>
-
The Bish, The Fish and The...
Ginny Bishton is an artist who defies expectations. Or rather, completely dismantles them, leaving their components arranged in neat rows. One... More >>
- Ghost in the Shell vs. Sealab 2021 Mash-UpTue Feb 9, @ 7:28AM
- Five Steampunk Mice (And One Hideous Taxidermy...Tue Feb 9, @ 4:37AM
- Stage Raw: Why Torture is WrongMon Feb 8, @ 3:14PM
The Ads
All of our offline ads, online.
Ads, Special Issues, Flipbook
Special Issues
We present several issues where we highlight our premier clients. Here's the top providers of goods and services in your area.
- X-Games GuideFri, Apr 25 '08 12:41pm
- VH1 GuideMon, Jul 7 '08 12:05pm
- The Rolling Paper - Medical Marijuana Guide Wed, Feb 3 '10 2:08pm
LikeMe »
House of BluesWest Hollywood, CA |
The Magic CastleL.A., CA |
Urth CaffeBeverly Hills, CA |
Your Favorite Places
Even if you haven't been to them yet.
Sign up to discover tried and tested places to eat, drink, dance, shop and explore - in the city you live in, and the cities you visit.
Christina says:
Interesting observation regarding the fists in the air. I saw Kid Rock on a whim here in San Francisco last Sunday and the crowd also had their fists in the air, pumping along to the songs. A couple of times they turned the lights on the audience and it looked like a stranger trucker youth parade.
Posted on Wednesday, Oct. 31 2007 @ 5:02PM