Polvo/Trans Am @ Neumo's: The New Chapel Hill Rock?

I was worried - I really was.

A couple of months back, I heard about Polvo reforming for All Tomorrow's Parties, I wondered if their discordant sounds would turn to mush since their hiatus in 1997. Could they keep it together and tight while maintaining their eclectic messy nature that gave them their signature?

Apparently, they did, because they're now on tour and passed through Seattle last night with avant guard hard-rockers Trans Am - and let me tell you, it was alright.

And it was tight.

When Hipsters (Don't) Attack

Entering Neumo's on what I thought was the last part of Trans Am's set, I was immediately reminded of the Cat's Cradle, which is the highest compliment someone from Chapel Hill can give another venue. When I first moved to Seattle, I went to Neumo's to check out some of my favorites and was surprised to find it more scene than substance - hipsters crowding the small room so they could tell their friends about how awesome the show last night was.

I don't know if it was because the members of the bands are older than the average age in Capitol HIll or if it's some Southeast Rock Magic^tm, but there was definite vibe to rock out here - no poseurdom or pretense in the people I talked to. Refreshing!

Trans Am!

Sebastian Thomson of Trans Am

Since Nathan Means was thanking the crowd for coming out, having a good time, and being awesome, I thought it was the last song of Trans Am's set - and then they played seven more songs. And thanked the crowd between each one - classy guys.

Trans Am is always a high-energy show - Thomson on the skins hits hard and fast, with the bass lines backing a steadiness that is normally found in the drums. Meanwhile, the drums are all over the place, as if someone had put Animal in a New Wave band. They played about six more songs, including some new stuff, and...

...then...

Polvo

What can I say? Growing up in Chapel Hill at the height of the indie rock scene there was golden groove about the music that has never been duplicated anywhere else I have ever lived. Polvo, as a precursor and progenitor to today's math rock, has steady rhythms and vibe based around discordant guitars and a wandering bass line, with the drums providing punctuation to the rambling dialogue.


They did not disappoint - although the bad hasn't played a tour in ten years, the music sounded exactly as it did in 1994 and the stage presence was heady and real. Appropriately standoffish and absorbed in the music, the crowd ate it up, digested it, and spat it out as a head-bobbing mass of subliminal understanding.

They played one new song, which means I'm keen on seeing what's next for the band - a new album? Single? A line of specialty post-grunge math rock breakfast cereals? Bring it on!