Out: Pants Yell!, Cryptacize, and Casiotone for the Painfully Alone at T.T.'s

Published Jul 08 2009, 11:25 AM by Shaula Clark

^{Casiotone for the Painfully Alone}

It’s not shocking that the crowd for a Casiotone for the Painfully Alone show would be a little standoffish. After all, the entire Casiotone discography is brimming with awkwardness. And so too is T.T. the Bear’s Place this July night.

For openers Pants Yell!, the audience manages to be both appreciative and aloof. Lead singer Andrew Churchman once described Boston as a place “where everyone wears scarves all the time.” And though most of the crowd are dudded up in clamdiggers and sandals, their Boston scarves are still wrapped tight. After PY! lay down “I Remember” (a wistful example of their jangly, just-shy-of-twee indie pop), Churchman asks, “Did everyone have a good Fourth of July?” Silence, and then a lone voice honks, “I got sunburned.” So much for crowd banter.

There’s a bit of a thaw for Cryptacize, whose unhinged melodies fall somewhere between ’50s girl-group pop and a psychedelic carousel ride. Lead singer Nedelle Torrisi bops around in a floaty polka-dot shirt dress while guitarist Chris Cohen (formerly of Deerhoof) messes with his effects pedals. Late in the set, Torrisi announces, sweetly, “This is a song about psychosis,” before playing their new album’s title track, “Mythomania.” It’s the only time they address the audience before hopping off stage.

In what is more of a long entrance than a “big” one, Casiotone’s sole member, Owen Ashworth, spends the next half-hour fiddling with equipment, plugging and unplugging cables, and fine-tuning his Nord. When he does look up from his gear, he suddenly launches into “Optimist vs. The Silent Alarm (When The Saints Go Marching In),” a cut off his latest, Vs. Children. His set, though short, is a good mix of new tracks and old faves. The highlight is “Love Connection,” which Ashworth will play only if an audience member sings it; brave fan Donna takes the mic. As Ashworth himself remarks (though he’s referring to a previous audience-participation experiment), “She forgot the words, but it was still great.”

Cryptacize, "Mythomania"

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, "Optimist vs. The Silent Alarm"