live music review: akron/family, the knitting factory brooklyn, february 17 2011

On February 17, 2011, I headed to Brooklyn’s The Knitting Factory for Akron/Family’s kickoff performance in the tour supporting the February 8, 2011 release of their new album, S/T II: The Cosmic Birth and Journey of Shinju TNT . After listening to the promotional copy of the album non-stop for the past three weeks, I was excited to see the band perform live. As Dunja has pointed out here before, a lot of music journalism is reviewing bands you don’t like, so it rules when things actually work out win-win and you get to write about music you really enjoy.

The band came onstage very inconspicuously. I actually think I was standing next to bassist Miles Seaton for most of opening band Delicate Steve’s awesome performance. Akron/Family is made of three men who don’t exactly look like your average rock star, but these seemingly middle-aged rockers simply kick ass and take names during their killer live set.  I know I sound like the biggest bro ever and I’m kind of cringing as I write this, but it’s totally true.

I’d heard that each band member plays all instruments and takes turns with lead vocals, but in the course of listening to S/T II I found that hard to believe because there were definite roles and even a universal lead singer that only varied on one or two of the songs. However, the live show proved those previous reviewers totally correct. While the general set-up (for over about 50% of the live show) was Miles Seaton playing bass, Seth Olinksy on guitar and Dana Janssen on drums, at different times throughout the set, each member indeed played other instruments and took a part in vocals.

Before we go any further in this review, I feel compelled to share something with you faithful readers about an aspect of the live show that added to my experience of Akron/Family. Probably almost as interesting as the live show itself was the band’s audience. I saw people of all different walks of life. You name it, and they were there: couples, hippies, hipsters, yuppies, old bikers, people who just wanted to kick and dance, people who knew no words, people who knew every word, and somehow everyone in between. Akron/Family managed to effortlessly create a community with this very distinct fan base before my very eyes through their music and through their presence, which is rare to see.

This variation of the fans probably comes from Akron/Family’s (for back of letter term) eclecticism. I have never before been to a show where in such a short period of time, the sound recalled everyone from Pink Floyd to hard Zeppelin to LCD Soundsystem to The Black Keys to Fleet Foxes to Sigur Rós to Animal Collective and finally, to Bob Dylan. It’s not that Akron/Family is stealing from any of these aforementioned bands – their sound is the epitome of the postmodern pastiche that takes the best from each, creating an entirely new, totally captivating sound.

I wrote an email to Dunja right after the show that said something along the lines of “HOLY S—! I just saw Akron/Family and saw the future of music.” I still hold this opinion today. If the band doesn’t completely hit superstardom within the next year, I will be genuinely shocked. They are doing something truly innovative with their music, which appeals to almost anyone.

The show was an experience using live music and art installation to take you on a meditative journey. Akron/Family started with a very long, chilled out version of their song “Island” off S/T II that showcased each member’s instrumental talents and power as a harmonious vocal trio. After that, the band went into deconstructed versions of all their louder and faster songs. My favorites were “A Aaa O A Way”, “So It Goes”, “Another Sky” and “Say What You Want To”. In each of these songs, you can hear the distinct folk, punk, funk and rock influences.

At times, the really intense deconstruction of sound on songs like “Fuji II (Single Pane)” became difficult to listen to because the almost painful technical elements – the high pitches and instrumental breakdowns – were stretched to the extreme. The band rewarded us for bearing that with the rest of its set, though. After some more headbangers off older albums, Akron/Family ended the set with one of my personal favorites, “Silly Bears”.

Or so we thought.

Amidst cheers and cries from the crowd begging for an encore, an Asian woman came onstage. It looked like she was beginning to break down the instruments, but the longer she stood up there, the more quickly it became apparent that she was there for other reasons. She put a piece of large butcher paper between two microphones and started taping things. Two horn players and a flautist came onstage shortly after, then suddenly Akron/Family reappeared for their closing set. Miles and Seth were in white t-shirts, while Dana was in a basketball jersey. As the band continued to rock out, the artist started taping the band members and drawing on their blank shirts at will. The improvised installation piece ended; she left the stage and the band finished their set to a very confused but very interested audience. By the time this second set started, the audience had shrunk down to about 50% of what it had been just a half hour before, and Akron/Family made sure to thank the fans who stuck it out. After the horn players and flautist left, all three members strapped on acoustic guitars and delivered three beautiful folk songs. I think one of them might have actually been a Bob Dylan cover, but really, who knows? Sticking true to their heavier roots, though, the band ended up with an eight-minute extended version of “Light Emerges”.

The point is that the music is mind-blowing whether your genre interests lie in folk or dance, or anywhere in between. You have to see these guys when they come to a town near you. I promise you won’t regret it.