It was Friday the 13th and I was “fresh off the boat,” as people like to call new arrivals in New York City. It’s not hard to figure out anything to do in NYC because shows–good shows–happen most nights here. While Jason Voorhees was busy taking the island adjacent to me, I found solace at Williamsburg’s Glasslands, where Vancouver’s Dirty Beaches and Columbus, OH’s Psychedelic Horseshit were to play. Well, that’s what I thought. I arrived early to catch Dirty Beaches’ sole member, Alex Zhang Hungtai, to discuss an interview his publicist may or may not have made him aware of a day prior.
It was Friday the 13th and I was “fresh off the boat,” as people like to call new arrivals in New York City. It’s not hard to figure out anything to do in NYC because shows–good shows–happen most nights here. While Jason Voorhees was busy taking the island adjacent to me, I found solace at Williamsburg’s Glasslands, where Vancouver’s Dirty Beaches and Columbus, OH’s Psychedelic Horseshit were to play. Well, that’s what I thought. I arrived early to catch Dirty Beaches’ sole member, Alex Zhang Hungtai, to discuss an interview his publicist may or may not have made him aware of a day prior.
“Yeah, that’s cool. I’ve got a couple interviews setup in the meantime so just catch me after the show,” Hungtai delivered in a mellow tone. “Tonight’s going to be different though. I’m sorry. I’ve got my friends from Philly [Lantern] up here to do the show with me, so it’s not going to be my typical set.”
Whatever; that sounded awesome. I mean, I had pot with me, so how bad could an impromptu set with a band that Vice called “The Best Band in Philadelphia” be? Of course, I had never seen Dirty Beaches before, and as much as I wanted to hear “Speedway King” and “Lord Knows Best,” off his latest release Badlands, under the man-made cloud that graces the upper stage corner of Glasslands, I was cool with whatever. My assumptions of the exaggerated and rusty post-rockabilly to come surely outweighed an evening patronizing Barcade or Union Pool, highlighted by a pleasantly illicit smoke and piss in the bowels of the Lorimer L stop.
Hungtai’s been in the game as Dirty Beaches for a couple years now, and only recently has he laced pop hooks into his ambient hip-hop, in-the-red production. This is because he “took the persona of a singer,” and started sampling songs like Françoise Hardy’s “Voila.” Good move.
At 30, Hungtai stands well over six feet, with a young face, a grin, slicked back hair, and a tangle of emotions behind his dark gaze. After a sold out show, during which he spent half an hour with Lantern exploring sounds grungier and more psychedelic than he’s ever displayed in recordings, Hungtai expressed that notoriety and exposure is what he’s all wanted since he began playing music in the late ‘90s. However, he never expected Badlands to turn into a “blog thing.” He even threw the crowd a bone and played “Sweet 17” and “Lord Knows Best” following the collaborated Lantern set, to kill off the night.
I sat down with Hungtai and Zach Fairbrother of Lantern–a Halifax, Nova Scotia native–outside the club on Kent Ave., with only the moonlight to illuminate the Indian-style chat. I lit up Camels, while they vied for Lucky Strikes during our conversation about cigarettes, film noir, Hungtai’s father, Badlands, and the Canadian outlaw musician Bloodshot Bill.
Dirty Beaches+Lantern=Performance and Interview///Glasslands, BK 13.05.11 from Show Me Deals, Show Me Deals on Vimeo.
Although, it should be noted, the zenith of this particular evening was Dirty Beaches’ freakout with Lantern, I did end up at The Levee bar only blocks away with Surfer Blood. They had just finished their New York stint with a gig at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. After befriending their sound engineer/Dead Meat member, Joe Santarpia, the Surfer Blood gang and I proceeded to head down Berry St. while talking Mystery Science Theater 3000 and blazing a joint with weed they procured from a High Times shoot earlier. NBD. Again, the highlight was Dirty Beaches–I think.
