It would be very reasonable to assume a trip to the Attenborough Centre for Arts on Sussex Campus would involve an evening of seminars on French cinema or marine biodiversity but on Friday 21st November, the sound of Tune-Yards was heard and experienced – pulsating across the South Downs and beyond.
After a relaxing beer on the cafe sofas, you work your way up the stairs to an impressively intimate venue, that while cosy and inviting also gives plenty of space to cut loose and shake off the week.
Tune-Yards are old dogs in this game since the release of 2009’s Bird-Brains and their breakthrough record WhoKill a couple of years later, but I dare you to still name a more inventive and creative band, combining harmonies, pulsating drum beats, wonky electronic sounds and a furious ukulele from lead singer and vocal genius Merrill Garbus.
Now performing as a duo with her partner Nate Brenner, the band provides the crowd with an entertaining, joyful but also politically charged evening. Watching Garbus work so hard on stage surrounded by pedals, symbols and an array of instruments and machines is a joy to watch. Her ability to loop and harmonise her own vocals is so clever and highly skilled, but she makes it look effortless. At one point, she gets the audience to jump in on the loop on How Big is he Rainbow off this year’s Better Dreaming. It’s absolutely uplifting to bounce around to (even if we didn’t quite find the right pitch in time).
It’s a career spanning set of trippy bedroom pop punk/afro fusion funk inspired tracks including the classics like Bizness and Powa as well as airing out the latest releases with more danceable beats (see Swarm and Limelight) – it all feels very Funkadelic and I’m here for it.
It was a superb evening which began with support from LuxJury. One word – incredible. Another four words. A big year ahead. I don’t know how Tune-Yards found a band with only one proper release so far but I think this band is about to explode (***Erazer Mag exclusive***). A sort of indie soulful sound coming out of a rough and rowdy dive bar. Fronted by singer and guitarist Nicole ‘Lux’ Fermie, alongside drummer Howey Gill, they really play the support act well, recognising their role in the evening with good humour, provide excellent in between song audience chat and give plenty of fire and grit in their short set – see Hot Mess.
As ever with bands I listened to in the early to mid 2000s, it is heartening to see Garbus continue to work so hard to entertain now with the same level of energy as before. These bands more than most understand and embody the passing of time, in this case to great comedic affect when Garbus does a shout out to all our babysitters addressing their own situation and quite correctly many of the audience too who aren’t feeling very 2011 any more but fully hold on to Tune- Yard’s sonic odyssey with both hands.
