Line Out Music & the City at Night

Slog

News & Arts

@SEAshows
Twitter feed of Seattle shows on sale now

« Tonight in Music: The Live!, Born A… | This Week In The Music Section »

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Last Night The Moment I Left Last Night's Free Bacardi-Sponsored Party at Neumos

Posted by Eric Grandy on Thu, May 21, 2009 at 9:40 AM

bb10/1242924074-download.jpg

It was right after Matt of Matt & Kim—as grinningly, glowingly enthusiastic as ever, as apparently stoked to be playing in front of last night's backdrop, a giant boom box with led-screen speakers and rolling text about the night's sponsors (this was Bacardi's plan B, apparently; their plan A was too big for Neumos), as they were the last I saw them play some dingy warehouse—said between songs, "You know, I've never been a big fan of hard alcohol, but ever since we've been on this Bacardi tour I've been getting really into it!" It was on some straight Duff-Man shit, and I had to split. (Or, who knows, maybe dude's really just genuinely stoked about rum now.) To their credit: "Silver Tiles" and "Yeah Yea" are still inarguably fun, catchy songs, and they both sounded great last night (although, has Matt switched to a new kind of keyboard? the tone sounded different last night—more fat synth, less piano), and Matt at least gets local points for ending a bit about how Molly Ringwald isn't as hot as he remembered with an apology to Champagne Champagne MC (and recorded Ringwald fan) Pearl Dragon.

And look, I've thought about this, and I'm not the reactionary hard-liner about "selling out" that Punk Rock Teenage Me would've been—I've come around to the idea that the people best able to turn down dubious sponsorships and deals are maybe those already born wealthy, for whom it's no sacrifice; or, to put it another way: the working class, even the creative working class, sometimes have to do business that they find disagreeable to make ends meet. I have no idea what Matt & Kim's class backgrounds are, though, so I'm not trying to ascribe motives to them or anything. (Also, maybe it's just my problem for initially thinking that Matt & Kim were a "punk" band or DIY or whatever for whatever any of that means.) Still, for some reason, I find shit like last night's party way more distasteful than I do Of Montreal selling their song for a steakhouse commercial—although, god, that one was bad—or LCD Soundsystem doing a commissioned mix for Nike. I think I just prefer it when bands keep their corporate dealings and their live performances discrete.

Also, more importantly: I didn't have the patience to wait in the line for free rum. Damn it.

Matt & Kim photo by Tracey Cataldo

Comments (18) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment

They shouted out Bacardi again towards the end of the set. *Serious* pandering action, but hey, it was but than the other semi-coherent banter between songs. I thought their set was shit, maybe that is their kitsch (?); that battling for who will set the tempo for each song is irritating. They are much better at playing other peoples songs as those songs are 1) well written, 2) do not have vocals, and are 3) mercifully short - three things the original music could stand to learn from. Other people seemed to really be into it.

If you split after their corporate pitch, you missed a pretty searing set by Drop the Lime. For whatever reason, the sub bass wobbles in his music sounded much better at the See Sound Lounge a few weeks ago than it did at Nuemos though the sound at Nuemos was much louder in intensity. Also, dude can sing - Matt & Kim guy please take notes.

Posted by cosby

on May 21, 2009 at 10:16 AM

i appreciate what with file sharing that bands have to make money somehow... but i miss the days when it was sacrilegious to sell your music to corporations. now you can't turn the tv on without seeing at least one of your favorite bands selling you a car, or internet service.... or booze.

just saw a GM commercial using a holy fuck song. guess everything is fair game now.

Posted by kdiddy on May 21, 2009 at 10:17 AM

* it was better than the other semi-coherent banter...

Posted by cosby

on May 21, 2009 at 10:17 AM

@1: Drop the Lime always brings it. Now I'm kind of bummed I skipped out. Also, re: other people's songs, I did quite like Matt & Kim's brief instrumental take on "Hip
Hop" by Dead Prez. That's cute.

Posted by Eric Grandy on May 21, 2009 at 10:38 AM

@4:
The intro interpretation of 'Samir's Theme' by Debonair Samir had me amped, I won't lie. I don't know how many people caught that riff, but it was pretty triumphant. 'Hip Hop' sounded really decent, even if the crowd chanted along without really knowing the words.

Posted by cosby

on May 21, 2009 at 10:47 AM

Meh, the Bacardi shoutouts rubbed me the wrong way too, but I really enjoyed the show. Matt's kinda goofy, and Kim was clearly having the time of her life behind the drum kit. I think what made it work, though, was that it seemed like people on the floor were having a genuinely good time.

So, the guy did a short commercial. Is every artist who does a commercial a sell-out? Everyone's gotta pay the bills in the end. For the most part, he seems to be doing something he likes with his life. Even if he dislikes being a shill, it was maybe 2% of his time last night. How many of us can say we only hate 2% of our workday?

Posted by Mike Smith on May 21, 2009 at 10:51 AM

agreed w/ @6. In the end, the artist needs to do whatever it takes to keep on making their art in an already underpaid industry. To a certain degree of course. of Montreal's steakhouse song was the result of not reading a contract closely.

Posted by Franz is my name on May 21, 2009 at 11:36 AM

everyone here seems to get it: making music costs money, and as more and more folks consume music without paying for it, the more and more artists will have to fall back on stuff like this. but i also hear ya, grandy: matt's endorsement sounds pretty icky.

i applaud Scion for giving a bunch of great metal bands a ton of money to play free shows without making them spokespeople for their product, but i'd still prefer to pay $15 to see Mastodon and not feel like i'm a part of some sort of target demographic.

Posted by Brian Cook

on May 21, 2009 at 12:04 PM

The "Punk Rock Teenage Me" never really leaves you, does it? Have you read Kevin Barnes' "Selling Out Isn't Possible" essay? It's a great indictment of the whole sellout argument. I mean, come on! If a corporate sponsorship or some TV ads meant that I could quit my day job, or at least come that much closer to being able to quit my day job and make music full time, I'd be a fucking idiot to turn it down.

Posted by Hernandez

on May 21, 2009 at 12:07 PM

Everyone does seem to get it, yeah. And Barnes' essay is great. Also good on this subject, David Cross:

http://www.bobanddavid.com/2007/12/allll…

Posted by Eric Grandy on May 21, 2009 at 12:20 PM

@9 i think it precedes punk rock. i remember being in grade school and being stunned to learn that The Jets were a real band. i had always assumed they were just actors selling Kool Aid. even at that tender young age, i couldn't take them seriously as musicians. it's a big gray area, and where it slides into ickiness is just a matter of personal preference.

A Silver Mt. Zion song used in a LOST commercial: awesome!

Bob Dylan in a Victoria's Secret ad: wtf?!

Posted by Brian Cook

on May 21, 2009 at 12:28 PM

I definitely see things with more shades of grey than I used to, but that Barnes essay is pure garbage. Strawman argument after strawman argument.

Posted by Kevin Erickson on May 21, 2009 at 6:16 PM

No one ever really seems to complain that television, newspaper, and radio content exist mainly as an advertisement delivery device. I'm not sure why a free show sponsored by a corporation causes more discomfort. If the price of free music and free drinks is hearing that it was sponsored by a company who wants you to buy some rum, that doesn't feel especially egregious.

Posted by josh

on May 22, 2009 at 7:03 AM

Josh is onto something about no one complaining--next step is to ask why. I think a lot of people used to have more of a critical consciousness about the fact that much of the media is an advertisement delivery device. There's a whole tradition of media crit devoted to that issue--a thread running from Adorno to McLuhan, to Naomi Klein.

What's different now is that people have sort of decided to roll over and accept it, and dismiss other possibilities as naive idealism. There are a number of reasons for this change--the rightward drift in the field of cultural studies, the influence of dot-com bubble libertarianism, etc, but the net result is a real poverty of imagination--we no longer seem to have the capacity to imagine what music culture that operates sustainably apart from the advertising industry might look like.

Posted by Kevin Erickson on May 22, 2009 at 9:59 AM

The problem is that music is a cultural expression that people want to experience and share in. When you try to sell people something when they're trying to connect with that experience, it feels like you're being used or duped. However, musicians can't really make money anymore because no one buys records. You're going to see things like this because people aren't supporting music. Artistic independence comes from the support of fans.

Posted by finnp on May 22, 2009 at 10:22 AM

"we no longer seem to have the capacity to imagine what music culture that operates sustainably apart from the advertising industry might look like."

Posted by Eric Grandy on May 22, 2009 at 10:22 AM

the whole night was pretty over the top, but it was a free show. if i had paid to get in, i would have been bummed, but when you think of things like warped tour which is basically a mobile advertisement that you pay to get into, it doesnt seem so bad.

Posted by alithea on May 22, 2009 at 2:48 PM

it depends how it's done. bacardi has been involved with parties and music since the company was launched - i've heard stories about their prohibition parties in cuba. the brand knows bands and knows music so it works. matt and kim fit well with the positive vocals and good time lyrics - plus the solid live performances. bands and brands can work well together - most of the time. this is one case where it seems to fit.

the new heineken spot is brilliant by the way - it has nothing to do with biz markie taking money - it has to do with the track fitting so well into the brand strategy. brilliant.

Posted by solid on May 23, 2009 at 1:35 PM