ben-apu:

Moon Duo – Live – “Stumbling 22nd Street”, Feb 12, 2010, Synchronicity, Los Angeles, CA from Samantha Cornwell from Visitation Rites

“For me, Moon Duo’s sound is quite evocative. I like to imagine myself racing to the beach on a motorcycle and setting up a huge bonfire. Or perhaps I’m in some smoke-filled backroom circa 1975? Maybe Iggy Pop is there. Either way, their visceral psychedelic guitar rock transports me to another time and place. Their stage show, however, is in stark contrast to this. Their movements are very minimal, even awkward at points. Ripley, the guitarist and vocalist, makes eye contact with the audience on occasion, but only as a means of delivering his lyrics. Sanae, the keyboardist, rocks back and forth as if she were in some sort of isolation chamber, trying to lull herself to sleep. In some ways, this is an anti-performance. When filming their set, I felt more inclined to project video onto them than I did to shoot them. At the time I found the sight of Moon Duo jarring, but now I think they might have the right idea. They know their music is strong enough to transport you, so why have some aggressive image stand in the way?” Samantha Corwell