On May 14th !!!, also known as Chk Chk Chk, played at the legendary 9:30 club in Washington D.C. to support their newest release Myth Takes (Warp).

Toronto natives Holy Fuck opened up the show with their brand of spontaneous, electronic music. Their set up is intimidating. Sure, there’s a drummer and a bassist but there are also two large tables facing each other suited with an array of knobs, pedals, and gadgets. Holy Fuck abstain from using laptops and other modern technological aides that are mainstays in the electronica genre. The most interesting of the contraptions is a 35 mm film sequencer. Being totally foreign to this type of equipment, the only thing I could relate the set up to was the toddler toy sets I had as a child that had a variety of colorful buttons to press and plastic screws to turn.

The two band members that lurched around the tables seemed to ignore the audience and instead feed off each others’ energy. It was amazing to watch but proved too challenging for the audience. I looked around and noticed that no one was really dancing. It wasn’t that the music was bad, but most likely because they didn’t want to look like a dork when Holy Fuck quickly changed tempo as they often did.

The audience’s pensiveness waned as soon as !!! began their set. I’ve never seen so many people lose touch of their inhibitions and just…dance. It was so inspiring to see such a great mass of people come together and enjoy themselves.

!!!, unlike many mundane bands, appear genuinely enthusiastic about performing. Staying true to the hedonistic nature of their studio albums, singer Nic Offer often flicked out his tongue and gyrated on stage. Colorful stage lights and a gaudy disco ball also added to the decadent atmosphere.

There’s no doubt that all of these elements were entertaining but the one addition that stole the show was !!!’s Go-Go dancer. A voluptuous, African American man in gold lamé tights may not be the average person’s impression of a Go-Go dancer but he was undeniably a crowd favorite. He grinded, humped, and slithered all through out the set.

!!! ended the night by inviting a couple of people on stage with them which ultimately turned into half of the audience. There was no encore, but really, who could have enough energy left after such a strenuous show?

!!!’s Myspace
Holy Fuck’s Myspace

Tags: Chk Chk Chk, Holy Fuck, show review //