The Phoenix Network:
 
 
 
About  |  Advertise
Adult  |  Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures
 
Media -- Dont Quote Me  |  News Features  |  Talking Politics

Milk me

Hoofing it
By CHRISTOPHER GRAY  |  November 29, 2006

061201_inside_tjideerhoof
You saw the best concert of the year, now see the . . . ballet!?

Deerhoof, one of indie rock’s most beloved and least predictable bands, put on a knockout show at SPACE Gallery back on October 20. Taut, virtuosic, awe-inspiring, anyone who caught the set would be hard-pressed to name a more exhilarating forty minutes they had this year. Little did we know, us lucky hundred or two got a raw deal compared to the citizens of North Haven.

After the SPACE show, the band traveled to the small island community and began rehearsals for their latest work, the Milk Man Ballet, a performance based upon Deerhoof’s 2004 album, Milk Man. Students and community members participated in building the sets and learning the (adorable, minimalist) choreography, and the ballet had its “world premiere” at the North Haven Community School on October 23 and 24. Many thanks to the glories of YouTube, excerpts of the ballet have leaked onto the Internet.

“Aww” as little kids in white pants, shoes, and T-shirts throw candy to the audience. Smile as they fall down onto the ground and bounce back up again. Scratch your chin as they roll around the floor and, one by one, remove their right sneakers. The YouTube videos (six clips, ranging from one to four minutes) can best be called “quirky,” short on action but strangely hypnotic. (There are also stills from the rehearsals on the Web site Pitchfork.)

Deerhoof’s spastic breakdowns and hyperactive hooks seem ill-suited for a children’s theater project, but they're tempered by the addition of a couple of horns and a xylophone. The band, as ever, play their incomprehensibly talented guts out as white balloons float through the air and the kids seem to move about as they please. Of course, the mystery with a band like this is you never know if you’re witnessing a happy accident or perfectly orchestrated genius. At some undetermined point, you’ll be able to decide for yourself: the Milk Man Ballet will be released on DVD some day, perhaps coinciding with the release of the band’s next album, Friend Opportunity, on January 23.

On the web
Videos of Milk Man Ballet: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=deerhoof+ballet&search=Search
Pitchfork Article: http://pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/39735/Deerhoofs_John_Dieterich_Talks_Ballet_New_Album
Related: Milk Man ballet hits DVD, Scarred for life, Krofft fare, More more >
  Topics: This Just In , Internet, Internet Broadcasting, Science and Technology,  More more >
  • Share:
  • Share this entry with Facebook
  • Share this entry with Digg
  • Share this entry with Delicious
  • RSS feed
  • Email this article to a friend
  • Print this article
Comments

Today's Event Picks
ARTICLES BY CHRISTOPHER GRAY
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   YE + HARU BANGS + BATSHELTER  |  November 04, 2009
    Who was the least idiosyncratic band at Bubba’s last Thursday? Maybe the (not breaking up, but going on academic hiatus) duo Haru Bangs, who were the only act in plainclothes, but who also unfurled dynamic, punishingly loud fits of drum and effects-mauled guitar which will either strike you as utterly alienating or as novel, dizzying bits of well-composed chaos?
  •   ROLLING STONED  |  November 04, 2009
    Every new gambit is just another log on the roaring bonfire of Jonathan Lethem's eighth novel.
  •   DEAL WITH IT  |  October 28, 2009
    When I was seven, I had a winter coat with flashes of neon so bright they glowed in the dark.
  •   PRODDING THE FREE MARKET  |  October 21, 2009
    Yes Man Mike Bonanno on the most fun aspect of co-directing the new documentary, The Yes Men Fix the World: “climbing into an abandoned flooded quarry in a business suit with 30 pounds of rocks in the pockets to combat buoyancy for the underwater scenes.”
  •   ANNIE IN WONDERLAND  |  October 21, 2009
    There wasn't much to know about St. Vincent when I first happened upon her in concert, in the middle of July 2007.

 See all articles by: CHRISTOPHER GRAY

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2009 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group