Panda Riot at the Whistler!

This was a nice thing to come back home to from traveling to my cousins wedding in New York. The Whistler is such a small intimate place. You can feel like you're on top of the stage as soon as you walk in. Panda Riot on a Sunday night felt like a welcome home. And as one changes from seeing loved ones marry off, so does this band as one was away. They played new music. And I have the CD. It's awesome. Wait, first the performance. So I left the house late I thought. I was fully expecting to miss the show, but something was making me follow through with driving to The Whistler. When I walk in and sit down it was not clear if some band just finished playing or is about to begin. Damn, I just realized this is the same fucking narrative as always.....anyway, the euphoria of seeing Panda Riot play when you thought you missed them, white washes the bitterness of the ride. They played new music and they added a second vocal. I did not expect this pleasant discovery. The place often seemed packed, not to capacity, but a good modest sized crowd. It was not clear how many went specifically for Panda Riot. And so they play the familiar songs from "She Dares All Things", more people. There was this white couple at some point dancing salsa like they were ordered by their Mexican kidnappers. And now my gringos it is time to dance. I mean they were really into it. It sounds like I'm taking the piss out of them, but I remember them fondly, as part of the spontaneous appreciation of the band that played in front of them. It was nice to see them like Panda Riot. I go see these guys a lot, just like Alla. There are some things that are best appreciated in the long term. Like the transition into having another singer, who apparently will play a drum as well.

Even as I have that CD, I constantly rediscover songs by hearing them play out live. This is a band that plays in my head all the time, in the car, ipod. It's giddy shoegaze that wakes you to a morning in a happy mood. Thats the intangible feel I always get from Panda Riot without reading lyrics, none of that. They are the sound of early morning wonder. The new songs from the EP "Far and Near" are no departure of that sentiment, they just have a faster cardio, well on one song. And yet they are still casual in their quicker step. In the goth club this is the sort of sound that brings that early morning splash feel to the blood stream. You don't move faster, just with more enthusiasm. The second song on "Far and Near" has this fast trip-hop thing that the vocals still ride casually. I like every song in the new EP. Even as they are new they remind me of why I liked the band to begin with.