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CHROMEO KICK OFF BUSINESS CASUAL TOUR
SHOW REVIEW: 9:30 CLUB
WASHINGTON, DC
JULY 16, 2010By Marcus K. Dowling
Two piece Montreal funk outfit of Dave 1 and P-Thugg, Chromeo, played to
a sold out 9:30 Club on Monday night on a bill supported by underground
remix kings Holy Ghost! and cheeky hipster production lab pop duo of
Sammy Bananas and Maggie Horn, Telephoned on the first stop on tour
promoting their new album, Business Casual. The set certainly
proved that in the case of Chromeo that there's a sucker born every
minute for a great gimmick, and that at the base of every successful
gimmick is tremendous skill.
Outside of the popular call of "Chro-me-o. Ooooooooo" at the start of
the show, this was not a sold out crowd that cared to passionately sing
along to every word of every song. This crowd came to dance, and they
did. The sweaty throng had no problem with getting down to 75 minutes of
straight up funk, house inspired funk, and electro funk, the three most
popular musical variations provided by the duo. When playing the more
straight up funk oriented tunes, the band appears to be fully
comfortable. Dave 1 is not exactly the world's best singer, but with the
gimmickry of having an entire set of drum loops and backing tracks
loaded onto a computer, and P Thugg's talkbox, there is absolutely more
than enough to distract from a voice that is adequate and functional to
the purpose of the group. The group's biggest hits appear to be the band
at their laziest, which is not a slight to the band, but instead a nod
to their understanding of what exactly drives a pop hot in the current
environment. This is a generation driven by quirk, and people since the
beginning of time have been undeniably attracted to hooks, so on tracks
like "Fancy Footwork," "Night by Night" and "Needy Girl," three of the
biggest winners of the night, the balance, while uneasy to the classic
funk trained ear, works perfectly to appeal to the twin desires of this
generation.
Chromeo are a fantastic all around group. Insofar as in recording, their
learning curve, as shown by their ability to handle synthesizing two
related yet disparate styles to create their exuberant and poppy sound,
shows them at a place where working with legends will be where they can
advance their career. As far as a live show, the band is ready to take
the step of hiring a full orchestra and band for touring, and exploring
where they can take their sound on their next level. But for this crowd
on this night, they were the most defining band of the audience's
generation.
If a fan of Zapp and Roger, The Time or Klymaxx, Chromeo is right up
your alley. How then, does a legion of kids barely alive to appreciate
the genius of "Meeting in the Ladies Room," "777-9311" or "More Bounce
to the Ounce" become the legion of fans that support the Roger Troutman
Appreciation Revival Hour? Simple. Blogs and remixes. Chromeo's rise to
fame has occurred in literal lock step with the rise of hipsters,
underground DJs, blogging and the need and desire to reinterpret sound.
MSTRKRFT, Sinden, Laidback Luke, Treasure Fingers and a plethora of top
international re-interpreters have re-spun magic from the golden tracks
that the Canadian duo have created. In re-imagining funk and disco into
dance floor trending electro, the band has superseded their concept as
funk revivalists, and are the most mainstream trending of the groups
that have most benefited from the hipster generation.
The most telling performance of thie night was the duo's mashup cover of
The Eagles' classic "I Can't Tell You Why." Over a sonically lush bed
of "I Can't Tell You Why" blended with Hall and Oates' "One on One," and
P Thugg cranking out the chorus on the talk box, the song appeased the
classic funk and pure soul of the band evident in their bourgeois
loverman lyrics, as well as the band's clear and obvious nod to 21st
century technology and social tastes.
Marcus K. Dowling is the editor of www.TGRIonline.com
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