Bonde do Role’s appearance at Holocene last Thursday made me believe that, for decades, those moths sold in convenience stores have been mis-labeled and are in fact Brazilian Jumping Beans.

I was anxious about attending, as I’m well aware of what it’s like to watch bands hating what their doing (but that still perform because either they made the commitment before the love was lost or someone made the decision for them). Many comparisons have been made between Brazilians Bonde do Role and spazzy Londoners Test Icicles, which is what initially peaked my interest in seeing this trio live. The fact that Diplo discovered the group and a record deal was inked last year with my favorite label, Domino, didn’t hurt matters either. However, when the baile funksters nixed a long strand of dates occurring directly after the scheduled NW showings and a couple Cali concerts due to illness and exhaustion just a couple prior to this show, I grew suspicious over just how fun the concert would be.

I can say that the description of BdR that Klaxons’ Simon Taylor-Davis gave me in an interview earlier this year was right on the mark. It was a car-crash! Oh, wow! Much like when I used to see Domino’s Test Icicles live (prior to their disbanding), part of the point of viewing the concert was to see just how bad it’d get—which is pretty much what kept me glued to my spot in Holocene last week.

That’s not to say it was a bad evening. I’d peg it as a bad concert/fantastic evening. A concert wasn’t what the trio was trying to accomplish (at least I hope not). No, Bonde do Role was going for something else, something else that was achieved. The antics were so entertaining! Marina Ribatski and Co.’s “we don’t care, we just wanna be drunk” air of operations really enhanced the party atmosphere and the less than half capacity crowd appeared to be lapping it up!

Close to the beginning of the set, lead Marina briefly disappeared to the side of the stage. She missed many a vocal cue while DJ Gorky and MC Pedro held down the fort up-front, continually looking over to her as a means of escape. She had her back turned to them, so she was unable to read their silent pleas. Lasting a couple minutes, it was almost heart-breaking in a cable access sort of way. It reminded me of catching Test Icicles at King Tut’s in Glasgow, when “singer” Sam disappeared offstage with the mic to finish screaming the rest of the set from a private stairwell outside (abandoning the other two onstage in the process).

Back at Holocene, only Marina returned. Holding panties! Panties lit on fire!

Yes—the barely 40 minute long set was a mixture of all things odd, random, and rather unforgettable—then and in thinking back. There was lap-dancing to be had and other sexuality on display. Hollering in Portuguese and English, the threesome asked the audience for requests and closed the night by passing the mic around for people to shout into with enough grunge as the backing track to constitute more than a sample.

So what if all Bonde do Role songs sound the same? I really don’t think anyone can argue that the tracks don’t all sound alike, and I don’t think anyone can argue that it matters, either. It’s about fun, and if this is what exhaustion looks like, then…

Links:
Bonde do Role-space
Test Icicles-space
Domino

Photos by Nilina