Supporting their mind-bending 2012 album, Circles, San Francisco’s Moon Duo bring their whirring psychedelic jams to a lazy, Friday night crowd at The Espy.
For Moon Duo, much the same as for his main project Wooden Shjips, Ripley Johnson favours fierce motorik rhythms, expertly drenched in feedback-laced guitars.
As Sanae Yamada’s synthetic rhythms pulse steadily below Johnson’s swirling krautrock mazes, the pair make no effort to acknowledge each other, positioned several metres apart at opposite sides of the stage. They seem totally oblivious to the multitude of eyes gazing towards them, lost in their own mesmerising soundscapes.
Yamada, with her heavily-fringed black hairstyle, appears a refined, impeccably stylish variation of Alison Mosshart. Johnson, meanwhile, is as scraggly as ever, his rough greying beard and the thin silver strands billowing from his scalp entwining in a tangled mess. Outwardly, they certainly seem an odd couple, but their mesmeric sonic offerings suggest an exquisite pairing at work.
“I Can See”, from 2012’s Circles proves an ideal choice for a set-opener. The floor in front of the stage is barren, as a few people litter themselves timidly against the walls. As the track progresses, however, the lingerers at the back of the room saunter forwards, enraptured by the hypnotic miasma of elegantly manipulated feedback and Yamada’s tepid beats.
By the end of the set, it’ll be nearly impossible to maneuver oneself effectively throughout the room, as the enamoured crowd, most-likely composed of newly acquired fans, leaves barely enough room for the impulsive gyrating this music demands.
“Circles” introduces a structured, albeit simple riff into Johnson’s otherwise meticulously disordered guitar explorations. It’s punchy, it’s danceable and it emerges at the ideal time to complement the deteriorating inhibitions of the audience, gentle sways evolving into cadenced bops.
Kaleidoscopic projections dance frantically, aimlessly, and beautifully across their gently undulating torsos. The set is wholly protected from invasive spotlights, with the duo preferring to linger in shadows.
Occasionally, an expertly timed lurch of the head will cast Johnson’s face under the fleeting glow of a flickering chessboard or some spiraling insignia, allowing the crowd to glimpse at the expression of pained concentration upon his bearded face. His dedication to the flawless recreation of these writhing, krautrock gems is something to behold.
The atmosphere created by Moon Duo is entrancing. The combination of the steady, unfaltering rhythms, the beautiful drones of the synths and guitars, and Johnson’s smooth, mellow vocals, builds within the timeworn venue an experience that defies the raging rock’n’roll Melbournians have come to expect from the Espy.
These are the kind of events that keep us pursuing live music: the shows that represent those seemingly elusive moments, when the music, the lights, the venue and the people coalesce in unexpected ways. The room has effectively detached itself from reality and we’re merely floating somewhere in space, bending and oscillating through Mood Duo’s magnetic and mind-melting psychedelic assaults.
There’s no doubt that Moon Duo have embedded themselves heavily in the minds of all who witness their hypnotic performance this evening. The venue is likely to be haunted with their psychic residue for weeks to come.
