We appreciated the didactic nature of the show, but it also offered plenty of solid musical performances. We’re not sure how to describe the nonet known as Qats(read: “Cats”), who bill themselves as “Paul Simon meets Joan as Police Woman.” The legendary creator of rock standards like “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and “America” may have something in common with New York cult soul-rockers Joan as Police Woman (the reference is to ’70s cop show Police Woman, starring Angie Dickinson). What we heard was a curious mix of ’70s horn bands — think Chicago or The Ides of March — with hints of salsa and Frank Zappa, topped off by Helen Vaskevitch’s vocals.
Qats endeared themselves to us with a funkified version of jazz singer Mel Tormé’s venerable tune “The Christmas Song,” complete with altered lyrics to celebrate Vaskevitch’s birthday and a detour into “Auld Lang Syne.” Next up was Splash Zone, a disco band making their live debut. The grooves of Kate Neff(who later gave a presentation on digestion), Colby DeHart, Chris Hauserand Jon Nasrallahgot the crowd on their feet.
As midnight struck, it was the immune system that got the spotlight. Terror Pigeon, the project of Neil Fridd, played some new tunes with copious help from Meth Dad(aka Tyler Walker), Soft Bodies(Taylor Jensen), Jen Gavinand more friends, as the purple parachute was once again brought forth. Soft Bodies overcame technical difficulties with help from the audience, who sang along during her short-but-sweet set, and later she joined Meth Dad to churn out celebratory tunes that worked the crowd into a frenzy. There were recent cuts from Meth Dad’s Swate Drames, but the chorus of the old favorite “No Parents” definitely resonated: “Life is worth living / So that’s what we’ll do.” The audience continued to boogie into the brand-new year, well after we called it a night.
While we didn’t learn very much from the presentations on the human body — we sort of had that aspect of our education covered long before we set foot in The East Room — we got off on the sheer audacity of the concept. It was difficult to say exactly how any of the performances tied into that concept, but it didn’t matter. What did matter is that Nashville, once a pop desert, has become a wonderland of weird, enlightening and genre-busting post-disco. It’s hard to image a band like Qats, which makes music that never seems to settle down into a conventional genre, making its way in Music City a few years ago.
We made our way out into the city. The rain had finally stopped. The new year looked pretty good, and that had everything to do with that cliché, the power of music. But the power of community — of our bodies working together toward a more just and, let’s hope, a more danceable world — was just as potent. In a world whose values can often seem disembodied, we appreciated the effort to turn idealism into reality.
See our slideshow for more photos.
In The Spin — the Scene's live review column — staffers and freelance contributors review concerts under a collective byline.
