[ATTENDED: July 27, 2016] Kristin Kontrol
I didn’t know who Kristin Kontrol was before this show. I had to look her up and I saw that she used to sing for the Dum Dum Girls (she was Dee Dee Dum Dum). I never really cared for them (I don’t like old time “girl group” music, so I didn’t need to hear it updated). For some reason I assumed she would be loud and brash (which I realize is not what the Dum Dum Girls sound like anyhow). Rather, her new outfit Kristin Kontrol embraces her love of 80s synth pop.
When she came out I didn’t realize she had been performing for a few years already (they formed in 2008), so while I knew she wasn’t a new artist, I was delighted with how much stage presence she had. She even had “moves” down (arm gestures that went along with the songs) and she was really poised.
She told us that her first concert was Garbage way back in 1995 and it was that show that made her want to be a musician. So she was delighted to be opening for them.
The band consisted of a drummer (who used a soft mallets on his cymbals, which I liked, as well as a mixture of electronic and analog drums), a guitarist who seemed to be playing lot of weird electronic sounds with is instrument (he was on the far side so I couldn’t really see him) and a bassist/keyboardist who was right in front of me. Despite the guitar/bass line up, the overall sound was very synthy (even when no one was playing a synth).
I just read that the impetus for this band was her desire to explore her love of synth music, so when I was thinking she sounded very 80s synth, I was right. She had mentioned Kate Bush in the article , and I certainly heard that in her performance. I also sensed some Dale Bozzio in her singing. The music had an 80s synth rock sound but with a lot of noise thrown on top–masking the cleanliness of those 80s songs–the live drums helped with tat.
There were some odd things that I’m unclear how they happened–she harmonized with herself a lot (but not with a looping pedal–I guess her voice was prerecorded?) and there were a lot of synth sounds that I assume were triggered from the drums.
There are ten songs on the album (which clocks in about 40 minutes). So I guess she played the whole thing. I hadn’t heard it before but I listened to it after the show and it sounds like we heard the whole thing.
I find that I enjoyed the sound of the record a bit more than live. Maybe it’s because I already knew the songs, or because the sound for opening acts isn’t always great. I didn’t really get to hear how good her voice was in the live setting–it sounds pretty great on the record. Although, as I mentioned, I enjoyed the slightly rawer sound of the music to the polished album
All in all, she was a good opening act and I can see her getting a lot pf airplay in the future.
Oh, and to the woman behind me who shouted “You go, girl!” after every song, please find a new catchphrase. Or just cheer like the rest of us.
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