Brightest Young Things

words by Pat Longstreth, photos by Dakota Fine

...
Full disclosure: I already know the members of The Juan MacLean. I directed a music video for them (see here click click). Before the show I went over to talk to Juan and Nancy. They are really nice people and they are always in a good mood because they love what they do. We talked about their tour and the latest music out there. I said that the last show I'd seen at the Blackcat was Junior Boys and it was inexplicably packed on a Tuesday. Juan immediately jumped on it, "you know the deal with those guys right?...they do everything from a laptop. They had a show in NYC a few months ago and their laptop froze. They couldn't even start the show. They apologized to all their fans and sent everyone home." I was cracking up!

Juan's subtext here is that while other bands fake it, The Juan MacLean is for real. There are no laptops or midis. The keyboards and beat generators are all self-contained units. Juan's theremin uses the same technology that was patented in 1928. The maraca and tamborine sounds are actually coming from Nancy's hands as she jumps around the stage. The snare hits and bass thumps come straight from Jerry's metronomic limbs. I don't really care about the whole pre-produced vs live performance debate. All I know is that these guys could do it however they want, but they choose to be purists. While their means are striclty conservative, their sound is positively progressive. Its refreshing to see 4 real human musicians perfoming a show that would generally be reserved for computers.

I'm guessing it was a little empty because of Memorial Day road trips. I don't understand why 50,000 kids show up to hear DJ Dredd press play on the same old songs, but Juan and Nancy put together a live symphony of funk, disco, trance and rock from the future and the place is half-empty. Oh well, for me it was half-full of good people who were ready to dance.

To be honest I was too busy dancing to really watch the show. I looked up a few times to see Juan's hand fearlessly commanding the theremin. He could make the crowd jump with a simple flick of the wrist. It reminded me of the way Darth Vader can telekinetically throw his opponents around the room. Juan, however, was using his powers for good.

There were some great peaks and valleys. DJs should take notes on these guys. They would slow down and chill just long enough for the crowd to catch its breath. Then three minutes later I was busting out dance moves that I didn't even know I had in me. I spent more time observing the crowd than I did the band. There were several points in the show where every single person was jumping and dancing at full throttle. Somebody told me there was a blind guy getting down. I only wish it could have lasted about 5 hours longer.

Previously in Live DC:

• 2/13: LiveDC: George Clinton & The Parliament-Funkadelic @ 930 Club
• 2/13: LiveDC: Veronica Falls/ Brilliant Colors @ Black Cat
• 2/13: LIVE DC: Steve Aoki/ Datsik/ Alvin Risk @ Fillmore
• 2/13: LiveDC: The Darkness @ 930 Club
• 2/9: LiveDC: Theophilus London @ 930 Club
• 2/9: Best Weekend Bets
• 2/8: LiveDC: Kathleen Edwards @ 930 Club
• 2/8: LiveDC: Thurston Moore/ Kurt Vile @ Black Cat
• 2/8: LiveDC: Thurston Moore/ Kurt Vile @ Black Cat
• 2/7: LiveDC: Demetri Martin @ Warner Theatre