Photos by Julie Schuchard
If it were any night other than Friday, a mashup set hardly would have been an acceptable opener for demonic psych-pop perfectionists Black Moth Super Rainbow. However, Chicago’s The Hood Internet took advantage of the weekend vibe by dropping a glorified DJ set reminiscent of a high school dance party, after Oscillator Bug warmed up the stage. Steve Reidell (the man behind The Hood Internet) held it down as a solo bro on a MacBook Pro, tweaking nobs to fade between tracks while mouthing the lyrics to his own samples, backed by a panel of flickering LED lights. Things started to heat up around 10pm with the transition of Purity Ring’s “Belispeak” into “Mo Money Mo Problems”. He mixed up the vocals from Justin Timberlake’s “Suit & Tie” with the beat of Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky”. Steve let the enthusiastic crowd join in on R. Kelly’s “Ignition” remix and then closed with “Goooo In Paris”, a mashup between TNGHT and Jay Z & Kanye West.
Black Moth Super Rainbow played a hazy, electrified set between 11 and 12. The five-piece band opened with “Hairspray Heart” against a soft-focus projection of the song’s music video. Vocoder-warped vocalist TOBACCO donned bright blue gym shorts with high black socks, black Nikes, and a cap covered by a black zip-up hoodie. No masks for anyone on stage, unless you count the black balaclava that the drummer wore for the duration of the set. The visuals were not particularly spectacular, with subtle motion pictures severing as a backdrop.
TOBACCO sang next to a female production assistant, with a bassist and guitarist positioned on each side of the stage. The band alternated between licks from its latest release Cobra Juicy and cuts from albums past. “Windshield Smasher” and “Psychic Love Damage” were among the newer tracks played. The quintet also dug up “Iron Lemonade” from Eating Us and “Sun Lips” from Dandelion Gum, plus several other tracks which sort of all sound the same when you are literally completely surrounded by strangers blowing pot smoke directly into your face.
Black Moth Super Rainbow left the stage after about an hour, quickly returning for a three-song encore culminating with “The Healing Power of Nothing” and finally “Forever Heavy”. The band did not play Cobra Juicy standout “Gangs in the Garden”, much to my chagrin. However, the dance floor was literally shaking during the majority of the set, so I’m pretty sure the crowd was “feelin’ it” pretty hard, although it may very well have been the weed. Good thing this show took place at The Fillmore, or else it probably would have sounded like shit. I had fun though.
