Ghost Funk Orchestra, High Pulp, Daedelus
NoFun, 9.14.23
I arrived at NoFun a bit early. 7pm, yet the soundcheck was still happening. River Street wasn't totally bustling on a Thursday so parking was easy to get to. I was talking to a friend earlier in the day that wanted to go the show and he said he was only interested in seeing Ghost Funk Orchestra. Maybe Daedelus isn't as popular as I imagined?
Ghost Funk Orchestra
Ghost Funk Orchestra took to the stage with a crowded hall. People seemed to have come out of nowhere just to see them. I guess funk is big now? I got a weird "neo-ska" vibe from them for some reason. "Neo-ska" sounds like a cool band name.
I mean... In all fair honesty, I'm not a huge fan of funk, but the band was enjoyable nonetheless.
High Pulp
Now High Pulp was an interesting band. I liked their direction. Jazz mixed with electronic mixed with a slight bit of post-rock. Somehow, they reminded me a bit of Tortoise, but very loosely.
A lot of long and drawn out synths, two drummers, and a constant sax solo somewhere within the set. The set got a little bit more experimental towards the end, which is where they kinda began to sound more like Tortoise. The long drawn out synths turned into arpeggio'd "sounds".
High Pulp's last song was joined with Daedelus, playing back some syncopated beats on their giant Yamaha square-thing, while the band played back a new song of theirs. It was a fun little mashup.
Daedelus
By this point, the venue had been emptied by half. The headliner had less people than the opener! It was a bit sad to see, but little gigs like this are what I love. It's a weird way of connecting with the musicians, and I've heard that some musicians have a liking for small crowds. A few dozen heads staring up at you admiring your act is like a bunch of respectful close friends wanting to hear you speak. Weird analogy I suppose.
Daedelus bursted onto the stage right after High Pulp's set ended, since they had just did that little mashup final act on stage. Now I'm currently writing this from the perspective of someone who had seen this gig a month ago, so I can't really recall their whole act. All I remember is that it was like a trip through various different EDM and techno sounds. A little bit of their set was leaning into dubstep territory, some of it a callback to their older work (small nod to the accordian sample they played). The one thing that was noticeable across the set was that it was generally just fast paced, full of tempo, never getting any slower.
Me and a friend had the pleasure of saying hello to Daedelus after the set. We exchanged well wishes, and set off for the local pizzeria.
Ghost Funk Orchestra pix (unavailable)High Pulp pix (unavailable)
Daedelus pix