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| Nicholas Allbrook, Lead Singer and Guitarist |
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| Shiny Joe Ryan, Guitarist and Backup Vocals |
Review By Russ Israel
One by one, afros and flannels began to
appear on stage. With a mob of
people screaming behind me and trippy images projected in front of me, the
scene of the Pond concert last night was truly unique. I have been a fan of Tame Impala and Pond
for a a few years, so I was very excited to see the latter play at the Rock n’
Roll Hotel in Washington DC. I had
seen some YouTube videos of the band’s live shows, so I thought I had a firm
grasp on what the performance would be like. However, once they started playing, I realized there was no
way I could have anticipated Pond’s cosmic destruction of that venue. It was an epic night…
Walking
into the concert hall, (although it was more like a room) I had no idea what
the crowd would be like at this concert.
I had a feeling there would be some classic hipsters there, you know,
denim, glasses, beards, more denim and the occasional nose ring. But it ended up being much more diverse
than that. Audience member ranged
from preppy GW students to seriously tattooed biker guys with spikes on their
shoulders, hence the eventual mosh pit.
Nonetheless, everyone in the crowd reacted very similarly to the
music. “Let’s get rowdy,” said
guitarist Shiny Joe Ryan at the beginning of the show, which sums up Pond the
experience pretty perfectly. I
didn’t see one person throughout the entire concert who wasn’t bobbing their
head or moving their body in some fluid manner.
As
for the music itself, I was blown away.
The band played songs from Beard,
Wives, Denim, Hobo Rocket, and Frond. They even played one of my favorite B-sides, “Pond in a
Park.” Every song was a jam, and
each was heavier than the one before it.
The music was constantly stimulating; the halftime breakdowns, the
psychedelic synths, the echoed vocals and the overwhelming guitar effects made
for a collection of sounds that only these five Western Aussies could have
conjured up. Front man Nick
Allbrook’s wacky attire and stage presence added to the overall “not giving a
damn” image of the band. Watching
them play, I just could not shake the feeling that these guys care about
nothing but music. They truly went
all out – strumming their guitars as hard as they could, drum filling as fast
as they could, and screaming as loud as they could. These guys clearly put their passion and their hearts into
their performances, which is refreshing nowadays when all most people care
about is their profile pictures and how they look in their Instagrams (myself
included…).
Pond
ended their set with the mesmerizing “Midnight Mass,” the last track off their
most recent LP, Hobo Rocket. It provided the sentimental, yet epic
ending that perfected the evening.
To me, Pond’s performance was inspiring because they showed that you can
make music that makes you happy, and others can enjoy it as well. These are just a bunch of guys who like
to drink beer and use fuzz pedals, but people love them and their music! That is the real magic of Pond. Good
thing I convinced my friend to drive me to this concert…
Hands down one
of the best shows I’ve seen.
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