The Sads DJ set at the Cha Cha tonight will make many people very happy. Especially since they’ll be taking their silent show across the pond for a European tour through October. Come listen to obscure records and wish them a bon voyage or just a good voyage!
(click image to see more photos of The Sads silent show)
Last Saturday June 14th, The Sads played a “silent show” at the Westwood Art Forum. I had heard their previous foray into the silent show business went exceedingly well when they recently performed in New York. This time they were bringing along artist/designer/director Mike Mills along with them. I was definitely intrigued.
Upon entering the upstairs venue, I was greeted with a bit of laughter coming from one of the 3 television sets facing the sitting audience who were positioned in a circle around the room. The 3 video installations, which were created specifically for this show by Mr. Mills, were loops of iconic film clips featuring laughter, crying, and people saying “I love you”. The televisions continued to play through the band’s performance thus evoking a variety of emotions depending on where you were sitting. The one I sat closest too was laughter:
Also positioned in front of the audience were 50 headphones connected to amplifiers which in turn were hooked up to the bands instruments. When the lights dimmed it was time for the audience to put on their headphones. I had seen the band play once before and was impressed with how far they had come, but it was even more impressive to see how much further they have jelled since then. What I was listening to in that dark little room while watching James Dean continually laugh at me was something I hadn’t heard from them yet. It was again, something different that I welcomed and thoroughly enjoyed. With Dan Monick leaving the band to pursue other pursuits, The Sads have brought in a new drummer with more of a beat driven style and the pairing seems to have taken them to a new place as well as a new pace.
The band went on to perform their 25 minute tour de force while the Mills videos continued to sway your feelings one way or the other all while the attentive audience sat peacefully quiet enjoying the sadness of The Sads. I had to leave in a hurry, but I left smiling knowing that the band was progressing and affecting people differently. Or maybe it was the repeated image of the straggly haired Gary Sinise from Forrest Gump snickering out of the side of his mouth that put a smile on my face? It was definitely both.
Check out what the band had to say prior to their Saturday performance on KCRW here: The Sads on Weekend America
Slowly, softly, stylistically, and now silently, The Sads have been working their way into the heart of L.A. with their off-kilter songs of loves lost and sentimental hopes. Since their last public outing at agnes b. (which is covered right here), the quartet of Aaron Rose, Aska Matsumiya, Dan Monick, and David Scott Stone have been preparing a silent show for the rest of us romantics. What’s a silent show you ask? Please allow Mr. Rose elaborate:
‘Please join us this Saturday night for a very special silent performance by The Sads. If your wondering what a silent performance consists of, the concept is this: essentially we play all electronic instruments and sing directly into a board which then feeds out to multiple sets of individual headphones for the audience. When the headphones are off, the room is quiet…when you put them on, they’re full of loud, wonderful live music. Hence, a “silent” show. We’re working on a brand new composition for the performance, so we hope you can come share this with us. We did it in New York last year and it was an amazing experience!! Also, this year, filmmaker Mike Mills has created a special video installation for the performance which will play on multiple monitors throughout the performance. It’s seriously worth coming just for that!’
Here’s the info:
ANP QUARTERLY and THE VISION and ART of SHINJO ITO present
A SILENT PERFORMANCE by THE SADS
Video Installation by MIKE MILLS
SATURDAY, JUNE 14th, 2008
Two Performances: 8:00 & 9:00 PM (doors open 7:30)
Due to limited headphones, please arrive early.
WESTWOOD ART FORUM
1028 WESTWOOD BLVD (just north of Hammer Museum)
LOS ANGELES, CA 90024
www.westwoodartforum.com
www.thesads.com
Invitation design: Mike Mills
And for those of you unfamiliar with the work of Mike Mills, he’s responsible for some of your Sonic Youth, Beastie Boys, and Air album artwork, and skateboard and t-shirt graphics. He’s also reminded us it’s ok to suck our thumbs by directing Thumbsucker as well as many other creative music videos, commercials, and graphic design endeavors.
(click image to see more photos of The Sads at agnes b.)
On Friday April 11th, L.A.’s agnes b. boutique in brought together Brent Stewart’s photography from the set of writer/director Harmony Korine’s (Kids, Gummo) upcoming cinematic love story Mister Lonely, as well as the musical stylings of The Sads.
I don’t usually find myself perusing the high class fare and all too expensive goods (to me at least) of Robertson Blvd., but the night’s opening reception was an exception. On the walls amidst the chic couture you could find production photos from Harmony’s film. Some were big prints of the film’s stars, some were small snapshots of candid moments, and some were even just photocopies. The photos were nice to look at as I tried to avoid glancing at price tags, but the real buzzing excitement came from the anticipated performance by The Sads.
Almost as out of place as the bowls of Lay’s Sea Salt and Vinegar potato chips and accompanying bowl of cherry tomatoes (actually a great combo), The Sads were set up to perform right in front of one of the large store front windows giving passer byers a glimpse into a cross section of high fashion and low-fi musical creations. Aska Matsumiya (also of the Moonrats) first took the “stage” and began singing while on the keyboard, she was soon joined by guitarist/Moog/modular synth player David Scott Stone as they performed the first song of the evening. At the completion of the first song, the duo soon turned into a quartet as drummer Dan Monick and guitarist/vocalist Aaron Rose picked up their instruments and headed right into their next song, “Pas Deux”.
I’ve heard all The Sads’ songs to date, and as you may have guessed, they come from a place where sadness may dwell. But seeing them perform live and feeling the energy the band was exuding actually made me feel the opposite, quite happy. The sound was great for a clothing store; the beats were heavy, the vocals were heard, the band was tight, and the children were really into it. And when I say children I don’t mean that as a euphemism for the adult audience, I mean the children who were not even 7 years old who were performing interpretive dances when they weren’t banging along with the accompanying beats with whatever they could get their little hands on.
The Sads performed a mesmerizing set that I honestly can’t say I was fully prepared for. A set of musical economy with massive feeling that made me forget I was standing next to a rack of $7000 jeans.
Check out more of The Sads at www.thesads.com
Check out Harmony Korine’s film Mister Lonely at www.misterlonely.co.uk
*There actually were no $7000 jeans. At least to my knowledge.
