Moving Units & VHS Or Beta @ Lee’s Palace

November 22nd, 2007

Craig Pfunder of VHS Or Beta

Last night I caught Moving Units & VHS Or Beta at Lee’s Palace.

Local openers Put Down The Rifle put on a great set, but sadly their early start time meant that the crowd was super sparse and not yet in the mood for dancing to their funky set. I likened a couple of their songs to Ulrich Schnauss‘s stuff. It was 80s/dancey AND atmospheric, and the vocalist (an extremely unlikely vocalist, might I add) didn’t make an appearance on stage until the third track of their set. Angrily, I can’t find any solid evidence of an online home for them, so you’ll have to take my word for it that this Toronto outfit put on a solid set of songs. Plus any band with a bass member that wears a Crystal Castles t-shirt and another kicking the crap out of a Kaoss pad rules IMO.

Next up, Moving Units took the stage. Kyle & I seem to chat about these guys a lot lately, and with good reason – the band’s songs have a sort of comfortable familiarity to them…they’re laced with hints of a lot of other bands we love: Editors, Interpol, Bloc Party. And the new songs that they introduced were 80% Joy Division-inspired, and done well. How can that be wrong?

Vocalist Blake Miller is the quintessential frontman – hailing from L.A., the land of pretty people, rail thin, fashionable, and towering above the rest of his bandmates, he pretty much perfected the notion of ‘rock star chic’ and swagger. The band even performed in near darkness, with next to no lighting on stage.
Between Us & Them, the single from 2004′s debut album, was a big hit with the crowd. I wish they’d announced the titles of some of the new tracks before they played them though! Listen to a few tracks on the band’s MySpace page.

About an hour behind schedule, VHS Or Beta quietly sneaked on stage and opened with a fantastic song called Dynamize from 2004′s Night On Fire. It’s the perfect song to be accompanied by flashing strobes and quick glimpses of the band members rocking out. Five minutes of classic riffs backed by a strong beat and no vocals really got people moving.

I’ve been a big fan of VHS Or Beta ever since I heard 2002′s Le Funk – picture music in the vein of Daft Punk‘s Aerodynamic (YouTube), but instead of two masked men in front of laptops, a full five piece band that at times included a kickass trio of guitars.

The band hails from the most unlikely of places – Louisville, Kentucky isn’t exactly a haven for cool things – and combine wicked guitar hooks with French house and dance punk to create suuuuper catchy songs. I wish you could hear Dynamize on the band’s MySpace!!

Singer Craig Pfunder, who’s Korean-American, strongly resembles this guy Kevin McMahon that I had a super crush on in high school. He has the beautiful long hair that’s surely the envy of all the girls, sharp style and great stage presence. I think Kevin was even in a band, too.

It soon became clear that everyone in VHS Or Beta was incredibly gifted, musically. Each bandmember took turns playing guitar, bass and keyboards, sometimes switching after each song and rotating through an array of models.

If you have a chance to see Moving Units & VHS Or Beta on the remaining dates of their North American tour, don’t miss it!

Performance Photograph Courtesy Getty Images

Posted on Thursday, November 22nd, 2007 at 3:31 pm by Alison and is filed under Concerts & Events.