“People don’t dance anymore/ They just stand there like this/ They cross their arms and stare you down and drink and moan and diss.”
-The Rapture “Whoo! Alright-Yeah…Uh Huh” (circa 2006)

“Everybody goes to parties/ They dance this mess around/ They do the shu-ga-loo/ Do the shy tuna/ Do the camel walk/ Do the hip-o-crite.”
-The B-52’s “Dance This Mess Around” (circa 1979)

Back at the turn of the century, it was almost (and I don’t use that word lightly) considered uncool to dance at an indie rock show. You could nod your head, close your eyes, bop along to the music, but any in-the-moment flailing would earn you the evil eye from every hipster holding hands with his girlfriend. I remember when I saw the White Stripes come through town to play a packed show at the Crystal right after White Blood Cells tore up the charts and how utterly shocking it was that nobody moved. Come on, people! This ain’t no sad sack folkie.

Of course, things have changed considerably since then—we got the dance-punk craze, LCD Soundsystem, and someone finally had the good sense to reissue an Arthur Russell record or two. Gradually, kids who grow up listening predominantly to rock tunes started making their own weird, rhythmic and arresting version of dance music. On a dreary Saturday night, up so close to the stage that you could see the sweat dripping down Copy’s brow as he clicked his mouse and played some mean riffs on his trademark keytar, I realized that Josh Hodges (of Starfucker and Sexton Blake) was dancing right next to me. Not to the side of the stage or from the balcony, but smack dab in the middle of a pretty fun crowd. Fuck yeah, the indie kids are finally catching up.

After almost a year throwing a dance party on every third Saturday of the month, DJ BJ (Manny from Atole) and the rest of the Golden crew gave one hell of a kiss-off last Saturday, with Starfucker and Copy playing together at the Someday Lounge. It was the third time I’ve seen Starfucker this year, and probably the best of the performances. Starting off with a new song before blasting into “Rawnald Gregory Erickson,” Starfucker played a tight and fresh set—and one that was relatively free of the technical fuckups that often seem to drain its momentum. My one complaint with the live Starfucker experience is that the fat bass lines that drive Hodges’ best songs (especially “German Love” and new track “Florida”) often get drowned out in a tight space, but the relatively spacious Someday gave everything room to breathe. That, and the dudes need to figure out how to close a set; instead of ending with the more experimental and noodly drum- and scratch-based tracks, how ’bout some more of the hits to keep the crowd moving?

That’s not a problem for Copy, veteran of a few Golden shows and someone who clearly has his sound down pat. Despite the one-man-behind-a-laptop setup that’s usually somewhat boring to watch, he’s an engaging live performer. It helps that he wields his trusty keytar without any pretensions, but even when it hangs behind his back and he’s just playing with the computer you can tell that he’s feeling it—constantly bobbing his head and moving around. He entertained a few new cuts mixed in with the customary jams from Hair Guitar and Mobius Beard, including personal fave “Afro Oven.” It’s hard to pin down a setlist at a show like this, but that’s so far off point—anyone who was paying attention either wasn’t dancing or couldn’t make it past the line at the bar. Would you really take notes instead of doing the shu-ga-loo?

Links:
StarfuckerSpace
Copy
The B-52’s “Dance This Mess Around” (skip forward a minute for the performance)

Photo: Copy on NYE at Someday Lounge, taken by Nilina Mason-Campbell.