Panda, Puppy, Apple, Tree

FROM February 28, 2004

From now on, all choreography shall be influenced by the free and sweeping moves of Greg "Deerhoof's drummer" Saunier.

Your memories are never as good as the live show. Greg Saunier, drummer of one kick, one snare, and one crash, perched on a milk crate, his oh-about-6'3" lankiness sprawling from behind, flailing like spackle from the knife of so many Jackson Pollocks. You forget about Greg Saunier's varying states of drum-face, so sincere and nothing like the impassioned wince/orgasmface of classic-rock-convention guitar soloists. It's just what happens: Greg shooting lasers from his eyes at the cymbal. Greg looking pained but hitting the perfect roll. Greg scrunching his face on the kicks, then leaning gently into the mic for a pure moment of falsetto. You get the feeling Greg is the kind of person whose legs loving preschoolers would grasp for dear life.

Deerhoof live show accoutrements--Greg's faces, Satomi's minimal interpretive dances, Chris and John's yogi concentration--they're practically performance art. Deerhoof live is more than a band, they are a traveling circus of wonderment; somewhere, maybe in the green room, they have dancing fleas. I hardly ever know how to unpack their music--I mean, there's the obvious dichotomy between Satomi's candy-cane vocals and the jetties of guitar and rhythm--the arty pop band thing, you know. And last night, in the newly cavernous Meow Meow, I realized that many of their songs are in major keys.

In my realm of understanding, major keys are simple territory--major keys are the first ones you learn in piano, major keys are often what many new and lesser musicians stick to, because they're easier to play. Major keys, they got ease; Middle C, Major G, Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge, Boricua, Morena, Boricua, Morena, etc. But Deerhoof, in major keys, and broke notes in all the right places, makes simple sound complicated, and vice versa. (I think they may have said that very thing once, in an interview.) They're about good, solid, visceral feeling, in primary colors slightly askew, but everyone's parts are incredibly technical. Greg, like, grew up in a drum school run by wolves. Conclusion: they are magical wizards.