People Get Ready

Late Show

People Get Ready

Man Forever, Color War

Fri, February 8, 2013

Doors: 10:30 pm

Mercury Lounge

New York, NY

$10 advance / $12 day of show

This event is 21 and over

People Get Ready
People Get Ready
I’m starting to think People Get Ready are the NYC indie equivalent of, dare I say, Banksy. Little is known about the band and, to be honest, they have a rather drab web presence — save a recent article in some podunk rag called the New York Times. So who are these guys? Here’s what you need to know: People Get Ready's addictive, mantra-like melodies play to your senses, sometimes repeating until you’re entirely lost in the moment, heart pounding and body swaying. Bandleader Steven Reker was a dancer on David Byne's last world tour, and other members have played with Yeasayer, Lissy Trullie and A Sunny Day in Glasgow. Their recent shows — including a brief run at the Kitchen — have perfectly conceptualized emotion, movement and creative release. Tonight's set should be no different.
Man Forever
Man Forever
John Colpitts (aka Kid Millions) is a Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist, composer and writer who is perhaps best known as the drummer for Oneida. Man Forever, his vehicle for exploring the outer limits of drum performance, was created to overwhelm, to investigate the nuances that bloom in the midst of repetitive music, and to act as a pure sound experience.

Originally based on the idea of creating a sort of punk-infused Metal Machine Music for drums, Man Forever has evolved from a five or six full drum set ensemble to something a lot more stripped down. Based on two drummers playing single stroke rolls on a single drum and the patterns that emerge from that, Pansophical Cataract is propulsive without a pulse. Patterns evolve and burst through the static surface of the material, much of which was produced by electric instruments, though "Ur Eternity" remains mostly drums with only a few bass tracks making an appearance. The sounds created by these instruments were based on the drones that Colpitts hears when he is practicing (the not fully conscious singing or humming that arises when one practices alone), and then augmented and enhanced by the other musicians on the record. The repetitive rolls create a phasing effect, a music in and of itself, and the dynamic shifts that occur when the other instruments enter become not mere notes, but grand events.

In the live environment, these shifts and phasing effects, are amplified through sheer volume and duration. "Surface Patterns" and "Ur Eternity" are 30 and 40 minutes respectively (though have been shortened to around 18 minutes per side on record), creating an even more dramatic effect. Past performances have included Brian Chase (Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs), James McNew (Yo La Tengo), Chris Baio (Vampire Weekend), Richard Hoffman (Sightings), Shahin Motia (Oneida, Ex Models), Sarah Richardson (Creeping Nobodies), Ryan Sawyer (Stars Like Fleas), Greg Fox (Liturgy, Guardian Alien), Christopher Weingarten (Parts and Labor), and many others.

Pansophical Cataract can be likened to watching Niagara Falls. You can't expect to see every drop of water that crests over the ridge, but you are overwhelmed with the shear scale of the thing, and therein lies the aspiration for this record. Dive right in.
Venue Information:
Mercury Lounge
217 E Houston St.
New York, NY, 10002
http://mercuryloungenyc.com