Monday, January 09, 2006  

Supersystem

Washington Post, Monday, January 9, 2006; Page C05

Teaching the indie kids how to dance is difficult. Many of these unfortunate souls were born with two left feet and a deep self-consciousness, which limits them to performing fake Irish jigs or wacky break-dance moves. Very few of them know how to just let loose and bust a move or three.

At the Supersystem show Saturday at the Black Cat, a house full of indie-rockers tried to shake that thang -- and many of them did just that, at length, without acting like shaking your booty is something to be embarrassed about.

Supersystem was formerly known as El Guapo, which over the course of four CDs created a lot of irritating art rock. But on 2003's "Fake French," the trio started playing with new-wave dance grooves. Then came a name change, a new label (Chicago's Touch & Go), a new CD ("Always Never Again") and an expanded lineup with a new drummer (Joshua Blair). The punk-funk makeover was complete.

Playing 10 taut songs in an hour-long set, Supersystem had the crowd pogoing, shaking and shimmying to a potent blend of Devo, A Certain Ratio, Liquid Liquid and other early-'80s groups that married the tense energy of punk with the hypnotic rhythms of Africa and disco. Bassist Justin "Destroyer" Moyer, keyboardist Pete Cafarella and guitarist Rafael Cohen traded sing-shouted vocals as Blair kept techno-like time on his drums. Highlights included "Born Into the World," "The Love Story," "Click-Click," "Six Cities" and "Everybody Sings." But Supersystem's songs tend to sound enough alike -- sharing Arabic- and African-tinged guitar bits, spiky bass lines, squealing synths and nonstop percussive thump -- that the 10 tunes worked almost like one long medley. Plus, it's much easier to boogie down to one incessant sound when you have two left feet. --Christopher Porter

Posted by CP | Link |

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