WJHU Radio

So, last night I went to check out my friend’s brother’s friend, who plays sitar. Her name is Ami Dang, an Oberlin grad who’s into experimenting with experimentalism. We went to see her play at The Bank, a Baltimore DIY venue, located in one of the city’s sketchiest locales. On top of that, she added some traditional Indian folk singing on top of twangy sitar riffs, which was a refreshing breath of eclecticism.

After that, Matmos set the stage. This 2-piece Baltimore band that originated from San Fran is signed to Matador Records and has recorded with Björk.

The masterminds behind Matmos’ electronic, no-holds-back sound. photo cred: jess t

Matmos was glitch-tastic with one member, Drew Daniel, controlling the music software and another, M. C. Schmidt, creating a funkadelic ambiance on percussion and keys. An additional member was there, working a huge analog synth, pulling out cords and plugging them into random input sockets; turning knobs about in every which way.

I had played Matmos’ music on my radio show before, funky tracks like “Public Sex for Boyd McDonald”; but with a radio show with a one-hour time limit, I had to refrain from playing some of the tracks that bordered 20 minutes.

The venue was one-of-a-kind- a run-down bank- that a collective of Baltimorean musicians now inhabits. The entry fee was a bit pricey, but the venue owners did serve homemade, complimentary apple rum cider.

Of course, the local Baltimore “celebs” were in attendance, as was the usual MICA crowd of antsy college kids. I spotted a certain Videohippo and a musician who I had seen perform at Baltimore punk hostel, the Frisby House. Not to mention, one of the members of the Floristree, another collective-owned Baltimore music venue, seemed to be hitting on my friend. These “celebs” are actually just a bunch of musicians who are friends supporting each others’ causes- that is, the celebration of music making.

A Cex member workin the Mac. photo cred: moi

With post-Matmos glee, I anxiously awaited for Cex to perform. Since I had only attended days 3 and 4 of Bmore’s Whartscape festival this summer, I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. The next thing I knew, I heard the repetitive blasting of a Cex loop: “Time, Time, Time, Time….” and some French-sounding lyrics started blowing out the amps; I was pretty sure the amp was about to bust. Not to mention, the crowd started busting out their dance moves- hilarious moves that seemed to imitate some weak style of crumping.

To sum it up, I would just have to say that Cex is a bustling, dance party-inducing trip/fest. If you don’t understand what I’m saying, I guess you just had to be there. It turned into a wild dance party; and by wild, I mean loads of beer spilling matched with dorky dance moves that continued into the wee hours of the morning.

With a smile plastered on my face, I couldn’t help but think, “This is the epitome of Baltimore.”

The DJ/emcee/host warned the guest patrons “Don’t smoke out front or the cops are gonna come bust us again.” And, sure, I could only imagine that the neighboring citizens would justly call the cops with a noise level that blaringly loud. I had to leave early because my friend had an early morning wake-up call. As I stepped out of the cryptic, glowing orb that was the Bank at 2 AM, I started to notice the deafening ring in my ears.

But that didn’t matter; I was vehemently satisfied, realizing that the high that Cex and Matmos had given me would help me to drudgingly get through the upcoming week of monotony that was sure to come.

-Jessica T
email: redhotcpmgk/at/yahoo/dot/com