Last night we hit up Santos Party House to check out the second show ever (and NYC debut) of Georgia's Washed Out.
Opening band Restless People offered up a cohesive and energetic set of dance tunes to start things. It was the Brooklyn quartet's very first gig, and their tightly knit disposition was impressive. This makes sense, as members have been honing their skills in other groups like Tanlines and Professor Murder. Restless People's music never settled on one main beat or groove, but instead pulled from different rhythms and perspectives for each song. Their music wasn't mind-blowing, but it was solid and fun.
After the stage was cleared and reset, Washed Out came out. The project's mastermind Ernest Green was joined by another performer on keyboards, and the duo ran through a number of droning, stretched-out shoegaze numbers. Green's helper then left and he turned to his dance tunes. This part of the performance was pretty much limited to Green singing along with his tracks as they pumped out of his MacBook and through Santos' booming PA. Washed Out's songs are definitely dancefloor-worthy, but the crowd seemed more ready for a stage-facing live performance than a frenzied, sweaty dance night. Green seemed a little disappointed by that, but he was still all grins as he ran through his tunes, including the terrific Washed Out remix of Small Black's "Despicable Dogs." We were hoping the Small Black guys would hop up on stage and accompany Green, but he merely thanked them and mentioned that he hoped they were in attendance. The set was a little shaky, with a few slip-ups in volume levels and some awkward silence between tracks, but we'll cut Green some slack since this live thing is a brand new endeavor for Washed Out.
Unfortunately, Green won't be able to hone its stage show during CMJ, as (according to BrooklynVegan) he's already headed back south with prior commitments. Overall, it wasn't the most amazing of nights, but it was a good primer to get us in spirit for CMJ. We had fun and we're looking forward to having a lot more in the coming days.
