Brooklyn Masonic Temple, NY
Date: 5/01/08
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High school athletic events are a distant memory for many of us, but tonight, it all comes rushing back. This fact is not lost on Thao Nguyen, who is opening for I’m From Barcelona

at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple. “It sounds like a pep rally in here,” she says. “I hope we win the game tonight.”

Nguyen, dressed simply in a black tunic and leggings with cowboy boots, is soft-spoken and almost disarmingly unassuming up on stage. But once she starts playing, it’s as if she’s possessed by a demon: bent over her guitar, she tosses her head wildly in rhythm, her layered hair flying. Her particular mix of indie and folk with a hint of country gently electrifies the crowd.

On stage with her are a bassist and a drummer—who call themselves “The Get Down Stay Down”—delivering a light, bare-bones sound. The songs are kept simple, her uniquely lilting voice accompanied by intermittent handclaps. Much of the variation comes from drummer Willis Thompson, who alternates among drumsticks, mallets, brushes, and maracas, creating a percussion section that tends to play off the guitar, instead of just behind it. Striking up “Bag of Hammers,” a catchy song off debut album “We Brave Bee Stings and All,” Nguyen plays with fierce abandon, seeming oblivious to the fact that, due to a loose screw, the pick guard on her guitar is falling off.

The crowd clearly appreciates her effort, clapping in time and some singing along. A few songs into the set, though, they all start to sound pretty similar—but no one seems to mind. This audience is exceptionally supportive, cheering and applauding encouragingly. Perhaps this is why Nguyen likens the atmosphere to a pep rally. It later becomes obvious where this energy comes from.

Because later I’m From Barcelona takes the stage. Confetti rains down in blinding abundance. In a flash, fourteen people are up there with a bevy of instruments, which include (but aren’t limited to): an electric guitar, an acoustic guitar, drums, a saxophone, a keyboard, a synthesizer, maracas, and an egg shaker or two. Bright fake sunflowers adorn the mics, two female singers wear matching pink tights, frontman Emanuel Lundgren dons a red bowtie, several giant pink balloons bob up and down in the crowd. One band member is in a black cape, and it appears that his duty is sometimes to sing background vocals, sometimes to dance, and sometimes to bat the balloons from the stage back to the crowd.

So what does this all sound like? A lot like an episode of Wee-Sing, the children’s sing-along show, really — except that those characters never pretended to choke each other on stage. I’m From Barcelona puts on one of the most hyper, happy pop shows around. The instruments and many voices crash together in upbeat, melodic chaos. When they play their single “Britney,” everyone in the crowd gleefully jumps up and down, singing along to the song’s staccato “ba-ba-bas.” This is what they came for: to dance unselfconsciously, to mash their bodies against each other, to go crazy. It really is like watching people cheer a sports team and wondering where all this pep and unbridled enthusiasm comes from. For those who didn’t already know what they were in for, the whole thing can be a bit obnoxious. But this isn’t the kind of music you overanalyze. You’re just supposed to go along with it. At the end, the band members give everyone a chance to do just that: one by one, they jump down from the stage to form a conga line that snakes through the roaring crowd. It’s a party, and very few resist.

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http://www.thaomusic.com/
http://www.imfrombarcelona.com/