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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Follow Bao on Twitter (@baolehuu)
Email Bao: baolehuu@orlandoweekly.com
Related Stories
This article appears in New Restaurants 2020.
