click to enlarge Jen Cray
Tacocat at the Abbey
THIS LITTLE UNDERGROUND
AJJ, Tacocat and Emperor X at the Abbey, Feb. 1
While current tourmates AJJ and Emperor X are very familiar presences in these parts, Seattle hometown heroes
Tacocat have finally just made their Orlando debut.
click to enlarge Jen Cray
Tacocat at the Abbey
On stage, they embody all the color of their punk-spiked indie rock. With scrappy songs of such disarming humor and infectious melody, it’s easy to see how a decidedly fun band like this has infiltrated the indie world, having made the pivotal jump up from boutique imprint
Hardly Art to big-name sister label
Sub Pop just last year.
click to enlarge Jen Cray
Tacocat at the Abbey
click to enlarge Jen Cray
Tacocat at the Abbey
But it’s not because they’re just simple fun. It’s because their tunes can be
simple perfection, with incisive feminist bite and surprising listening durability for poppy punk jams. Their latest material even shows some pronounced growth in sound and writing with longer, more elegant melodic contours.
click to enlarge Jen Cray
Tacocat at the Abbey
Staking increasingly undeniable claim to prime turf between riot grrrl and the Go-Go’s, Tacocat have emerged as one of their generation’s
best guitar-pop exemplars without even seeming to try too hard. And in a nice local salute, they dedicated a song to Orlando’s own hometown garage-pop heroes
Wet Nurse.
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AJJ at the Abbey
Headliners
AJJ (the Arizona group formerly known as
Andrew Jackson Jihad) are a band whose live shows are the stuff of such legend that these folk punks are living folk heroes to their fans.
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AJJ at the Abbey
Sure, AJJ's songs – sharp, direct and quivering with passion – are tailored to shoot right to the heart. But the true magic is the mass public reaction they inspire. For as many sparks as the band throw on onstage, their audience is what catches like wildfire. When the deafening applause is twice as loud as the band, you’re talking about a
cultural phenomenon.
click to enlarge Jen Cray
AJJ at the Abbey
Also on the bill was
Emperor X, an artist with deep Florida ties as a former Floridian and whose 2014 album is titled
The Orlando Sentinel. Similar in live spirit to AJJ, he conducts his one-man, crowd-engaging show like a hyperliterate campfire sing-along. Onstage, he’s a coiled ball of thoughts and energy manifested in nervy lo-fi pop songs that are all stuck in high gear. It’s a densely packed performance that can cover incredible topical ground in such short span that you’ll be left dizzy in the haze of his
eccentric dazzle.
click to enlarge Jen Cray
Emperor X at the Abbey
click to enlarge Jen Cray
Emperor X at the Abbey
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