Music Monday: Sometimes You Just Have to Dance
I’m going to use this Music Monday as a plea to my readers to get off their couches, close their laptops, send their kiddos to a babysitter and go out.
Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt at The Pinhook. Photo by Briana Brough.
You know what convinced me this is more than a good idea? Going to The Pinhook last Wednesday night and seeing the Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt. The band has received some pretty good press in the New York Times, which zeroed in on a few key details that really got me excited.
They hand out cupcakes at their shows, and have been known to wear costumes that are made entirely of stuffed animals.
I wanted to see how Durham music fans reacted to such a spectacle.
To start, I noticed the crowd at The Pinhook was a lot cooler than I am. Which initially made me want to judge them all so I didn’t feel like a loser for not being their friend. But then I met a few people, and really started to warm up to the scene as the band started to set up.
First, they lined the stage with plastic snowmen reminiscent of a holiday-loving grandmother’s apartment. Then, they started passing out costumes to members of the audience. Buried in my notebook, I didn’t notice until it was too late that they had managed to get my husband, an MBA student, to wear an elf hat and leopard print jacket. And our friend Amy –– she wore what looked like some bee-keepers netting festooned with craft-store flair.
Amy Cox, donning one of the costumes handed out by the band. Photo by Briana Brough.
And then the music started - some jumpy, up-tempo stuff with feel-good lyrics.
The singers walked amid the crowd, a strategy one band member told me ensures everyone feels a part of the experience. At one point, one of them dressed up in a green M & M top chanted, “I like you. I like you. I like you.”
As he punched out the affirmations, he pointed to different people whose faces broke into smiles. How could they help it? It may have been a gimmick, but it was all so simple, dumb and weird that it worked.
And that’s when I started dancing, right in the middle of these sweaty guys in the band (They did the majority of their performance on the floor, not the stage). I felt happy. I felt like I belonged. I felt like it was OK to bust out of the bore of daily life and emerge jubilant and re-inspired.It's OK to dance at The Pinhook! See, I do it and you can too! (Bri Brough's photography)
Is that enough convincing for you? Go out! Pinhook Co-owner Nick Williams told me this show was not atypical of the kind of performances they attract there, and as you all know, there are multiple places to see people share their music, art and thought throughout the city.
Click here to see more pictures of the night.
Have a story idea? Think I should attend a show or feature a band? e-mail lisarossi@durhammag.com




Monday, March 8, 2010 at 9:11AM



