Last night (July 29), Metronomy commanded the PA at the Funky Buddha Lounge’s Tuesday “Outdanced” series, in which Chicago’s most fashionable hipster-clubbers shake their asses on the cheap while local DJs support hype machines like Crystal Castles and Simian Mobile Disco. And on this particular evening, U.K. trio Metronomy unleashed their Devo-esque synchronizations like one perpetual Tri-Lam concert from Revenge of the Nerds.
The performance was an exercise in British humor, as frontman Joseph Mount and his two keys-and-bass bandmates came donned in their trademark push-light-duct-taped-to-chest rig, and the tunes that followed that same line of wit. Mount, the man otherwise known for his remix skills on records by everyone from Architecture in Hesinki to Zero 7, robot-shimmied to a series of singles from the group’s new LP, Nights Out, due this September.
He and his cohorts spanned sounds that evoked Joy Division minimalism as much as the Klaxons’ electroclash. And subsequently, Funky Buddha’s pit was a tribal seizure of spunky synth-drenched fans, all teeth and smiles while screaming along to tales about “breath-taking” girls (“Radio Ladio”) and moving to quirky off-kilter tinny beats disguised as straightforward tales about said girls (“Holiday”). Three guesses what the new album’s about?
Check out photos from last night on page 2
Metronomy makes magic happen in the Windy City. / Photo by Laura Gray
Metronomy frontman Joseph Mount tried to do just that with his guitar. / Photo by Laura Gray
Mount mouths some lovelorn lyrics. / Photo by Laura Gray
Oscar Cash clamps down on the kazoo. / Photo by Laura Gray
The band takes a breath. / Photo by Laura Gray
