There is something to be said about witnessing the first or last of anything. However, to witness the first and last of a thing, all in one night, that’s something entirely different. Abbey and I went to the Symphony Space on Tuesday night to see the one and only performance of a band called Final Fantasy Online aka Internet, an indie super group.
The occasion was a benefit for 826NYC and 826LA, which are offshoots of 826Valencia, the well known tutoring center dreamed up by Dave Eggers. The event was a McSweeney’s production through and through. There were four writers or humorists or whatever they’re calling comical essayists these days. And they were funny, really. Each writer stood before a podium and read their essay, creative non-fiction for the most part, with the assistance of visuals projected on a large screen. Wow that sounds boring, sorry, it really wasn’t. The presenters were Rodney Rothman who was a writer for The Late Show with David Letterman, David Rakoff – he contributes to This American Life, John Aboud who is actually one of the creators of Modern Humorist, and John Oliver – who you probably know from The Daily Show. And the whole thing was hosted by comedian Eugene Mirman. We laughed a lot.
So here is where Final Fantasy Online aka Internet came in. Their performances punctuated each of the readings and an intermission, so we got six “songs” altogether. Final Fantasy was made up of Dante Dacaro and Hadji Bakara (of Wolf Parade), Nick Thorburn (Diamonds) and Jamie Thompson (J’aime) (of Islands), and Syd Butler (of Les Savy Fav).
It was an unusual showing. More than a “concert” I felt as though I were watching a first jam session. For the most part all members of the band sat or slouched on equipment or on the floor, which contributed to the relaxed and low-budget feel of the evening. The first song was something I could get into. All the drums were blipped out on a computer and the band seemed to stick pretty tightly to a sound, but then there was a catch up and the song ended as abruptly as it started – without any attempt to recover. This was the first of, I think, four songs to be unexpectedly cut short. The cover they did of Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” with harpsichord-y keys sort of just fell off for no reason and the band laughed it off and left the stage.
The best one though, was during a pretty version of “With or Without You” when one of the band member’s friends sprinted up the aisle (this was a seated theatre event – in case I didn’t make that clear before) and leapt up on stage. It was actually pretty impressive; he cleared the stage in one huge leap and didn’t spill any of his drink. This was, as we came to know him later, Drunk Chris. Drunk Chris picked up a loose guitar, I’m still wondering what it was doing on stage, and just ripped it up. He was in his own little metal-loving world making the shrillest of noises. It was actually awesome. The rest of the band no longer interested in keeping up or playing along, left the stage. Those who couldn’t get around him jumped off the stage and walked to the back. All the instruments were left on and the feedback interrupted the next segment of presenters.
In addition to these very special happenings, we got an interesting cover of “Dumb Dog” from Annie the Musical, and an original number called “Hangin Tough” both of which were great but not without their own little weird moments. There was a lot of talking on stage during the music and most songs only lasted about two minutes.
So now for the question. What in the hell happened? In all of these screw-ups no one on stage seemed particularly concerned, nor was there ever a genuine attempt to recover. At one point, Syd Butler came around to where Abbey and I were sitting and told us a few things about the band. He said that it was like when you meet a really cute girl and you think, ‘this is awesome’, and then she turns out to be a really bad kisser. He said for the most part it was improv and that they were basically learning the songs backstage. Ahhh so that’s the answer. Or is it? I don’t know, because after the show Abbey and I went up to the stage so she could snap some photos of some lyric sheets. Again we ran into Syd who said that he hoped we laughed a lot and that he didn’t think enough people really get the whole Andy Kaufman bit. Ahhh so that’s the answer. Or is it? Was it all for the audience’s benefit? To make people uncomfortable, but humorously so? Was Drunk Chris in on it? Or what?
I am still thoroughly confused, and it’s rare that I don’t know what I’m looking at. For hours at a time. If you were there and have an opinion, please email me Kate@icecreamman.com
