Since Dracula Zombie USA were a one-time Portland performance, and Feel It Robot broke up, there's been a bit of a void in the Portland dance-band scene. So I was really stoked about Brooklyn-based Tayisha Busay playing at Styxx (on National Coming Out Day, no less). Though largely unknown to Portland, their videos promised dancing, beats, glitter, and colorful language. Styxx seemed like the perfect place. My last two trips included accidentally wandering into male-review night, and a giant drag queen named Bunny telling me that I won a gold medal at the Hipster Olympics for my karaoke rendition of "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'." Trip promised to be equally memorable.
Upon my arrival, Tayisha Busay weren't scheduled to go on for half an hour. The room was lit by only blacklights, and I couldn't see anything, or anyone. The band hit the stage a few minutes later for sound check. Tayisha Busay is comprised of two women and one dude, who alternately sing, dance, and stand behind a MacBook and/or keyboard. There are two things a dance band should have: stage presence, danceable songs. But their outfits are bad, except for a glitter mask over one eye, like Ziggy Stardust. The sound-check song included a lyric, "Your mom has scrambled eggs between her legs/isn't she sexy," which was funny, but the singing was mediocre, as were the beats. No one in the room seems compelled to dance. One of the girls knocked over a mic stand. There were a fair amount of booty-shaking moves, as well as creative use of the pole, but since the band were followed by male-review night, the girls got no love. Maybe their moves would be more impressive if they did them in heels.
Tayisha Busay will probably continue to make interesting videos, maintaining a cult following in Brooklyn — and they seem to be having a great time doing it. Check out their video "WTF You Doin' In My Mouth" and the video they produced for Andrew W.K., both available on their Web site. The dance-band quest continues.
