Moon Duo
18th February 2020
The Hollywood Theatre, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review and photography by Sarah Kidd
Psychedelic rockers Moon Duo touched down in Tāmaki Makaurau last night for their only New Zealand performance of The Lightship, a phenomenal immersion in both sight and sound.
Formed just over a decade ago in San Francisco by guitarist Ripley Johnson [Wooden Shjips] and Sanae Yamada, Moon Duo released their seventh album Stars Are the Light last September, the record seeing the group deviate from their usual psychedelic pathways to one that embraces the composed sequences of disco and 90’s dance music as their baseline. Fans needn’t have worried however as the fundamentals of what has always made Moon Duo so appealing are still rooted firmly in the ground, the slight twist in direction allowing them to display yet another side to their multi-faceted disposition.
Joined by their drummer John Jeffrey whose aptitude and dexterity behind the drum kit lifts each individual track in intensity, Moon Duo arrived on stage and entered a trapezoid frame across which was stretched translucent fabric. This simple geometric design piece created by renowned visual artist Emmanuel Biard [Eman], who has worked with the likes of Daedelus and Evian Christ, allows for the audience to witness the band members perform, while simultaneously treating them to a light show quite unlike any other through the use of projected images onto the fabric itself.
While artists such as Flying Lotus [FlyLo] – who performed in Tāmaki Makaurau last month – also present outstanding experiences in sight and sound, their work tends to be more digitally manufactured. Moon Duo’s current Lightship tour instead both harnessing then utilising the power of illumination and colour, silhouettes of the band members themselves reflected across from each other as if in a constant state of contemplation. Cocooned within variegated colours that both swirled and burst across the four textured walls, sharp lines cutting through imprinted images that dissolved and then shapeshifted into their next form, Moon Duo continued to provide the accompanying soundtrack, show opener ‘Flying’ with its hypnotic groove captivating the audience, who watched on in awe.
Pausing briefly between songs to allow their fans to express their appreciation, Moon Duo refrained from any major form of repartee except for the occasional “thank you”, the trio on stage seemingly not wanting to break the momentum of the journey that they had invited all to join. Vocally the melding of Johnson and Yamada’s breathy yet almost luminous tones complimented the instrumentals perfectly, never once demanding that an attendee choose between the two, both interlaced in a seamless combination.
Expressing their desire in recent interviews to provide a ‘multidimensional, multimedia, psychedelic experience’, Moon Duo have curated a performance that delivers all of the above and more. The tracks from their latest album – where Yamada has taken more of the lead composition wise with her phenomenal synth work – in particular generating several variations of organic movement throughout the room, alluding to the fact that many were interpreting what was before them in their own way, especially to songs such as ‘The World and the Sun’ and ‘Fever Night’.
The past was also acknowledged, as ‘I Been Gone’ from their 2012 album Circles, with its far more upbeat tempo and stoner rock vocal undertones welcomed in ‘White Rose’ from Occult Architecture Vol. 1; ‘Night Beat’ from Shadow of the Sun always a welcome addition to any live set.
Time soon lost any sense of meaning as the audience allowed themselves to be consumed by Moon Duo’s creation, Johnson occasionally and rather effortlessly providing flourishes of guitar riffs to Jeffreys perfectly synchronised drumming. All too soon the trio were announcing the end of the show, the fans ecstatic applause convincing Moon Duo to come back for a two-song encore that included – of course – a cover of former Suicide frontman Alan Vega’s song ‘Jukebox Babe’; Suicide having had such a massive influence on the overall sound of Moon Duo itself.
When it comes to live music, The Lightship is indeed light years ahead of the game, the overall event one that will leave fans feeling otherworldly for days to come.
Were you there at The Hollywood for this mind altering psychedelic rock gig? Or have you seen Moon Duo perform somewhere else? Tell us about it in the comments below!
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