Long ago, way fucking back, I had a dream that said they was from Philly. Yeah, Rebecca and Brian. Weird heh. Well since I've had that dream the Pandas have been playing a lot locally and occasionally touring east, then west. There is a lot that Panda Riot simultaneously represent. For being this work horse, playing Empty Bottle more times than fucking Jesus. Shut the fuck up. I know Jesus never.... Sit the fuck down. 
I mean they've done all the venues multiple times. Following them meant learning of Ringo Deathstarr, School Of Seven Bells, Warpaint, Pale Dian. And the closet with all the local band collection is over there....Don't fucking open it! Its gonna avalanche on top of you. In following them I feel fortunate in accumulating memory on top of memory. Culture does not exist in isolation. In following one thing there is a lot that you will learn along the way. And so yes indeed I will mention them other bands. For playing relentlessly local, they are a fucking Chicago band. She Dares All Things from 2007 is an innocent, wonder paced stroll. Little doom to their blissful urgency. Rebecca's voice is clear. You can dance to the title song like Amelie discovering Shimmer at Slippery Slope. Its day-time shoegaze that gets you dancing at night. I listen to the tracks now, and they just chill you out to let you be aware of the moment. 
It lets you stroll through it like a tourist enjoying it. There's an EP Far And Near that keeps that wonder but establishes a real beat, a pace is visibly faster and more urgent and with an awareness of the dark. Then this cute vinyl EP with Serious Radical Girls. The two EPs were released it seemed because it more represented what they played live. They were already playing from the LP Northern Automatic Music and for me the EPs are tangible steps in that direction. It was what you can take home, besides the first LP they were not playing from anymore. Since Northern you got Jose' and those seriously urgent beats. And on bass you got Cory. 
So all this behind me is what I wrote before 17 May. On that night on Kubla Khan's stage they played all new music from their upcoming Infinity Maps. So I was only barely familiar with everything they played and...that felt great. I was in a state of total wonder again. And I loved it all, a fevered dream that I have to write down for the fragile vision to last.
I parked in front of the church, I walk for Empty Bottle. I didn't want to miss Wyys but there was this couple strolling in front of me in a bubble absent urgency. As I near the door I can hear Venus from Moritat, now also the voice and keys for Wyys. They were on first. As they go on I take note of all my friends there, for what is Kubla Khan's dream without of a few friends in this mother fucker. There's Elaine and Adele. To them I credit my earliest memories of Impulsive Hearts, at Front Woman Fest . Then I see Cory, then Kon...and Cory the drummer for Moritat. All these faces I see as I hear Wyys. I am most curious about them because I am familiar with the separate components of the band. Venus is from Moritat and Donna is from Beat Drun Juel and I am a rabid fan of....both, oh, you know that already. After hearing, and seeing BDJ live I am curious as to how Donna plays her guitar in this band. I am just used to seeing her play lead. What part of the engine is her. I have heard the two demos that are out and I hear Venus and I recognize her voice and keyboard....oh wait I am hearing Wildfire now. There's Donna. The nuclear guitar solo. Hellz yeah. It was Moritat that first introduced me to BDJ. So now I also like Wyys. So I was way happy seeing this being mindful of who was present with me. 
There would be a constant swirl of orbiting familiar faces that night. I felt at ease drifting around them. I saw all the guys from Lightfoils who is the next mission 27 May with My Gold Mask. Between sets I drifted around. Conversations I can barely recall. Every performance impacted as if each show was a headliner and I was seamlessly drifting between three separate shows in three separate time periods....and no fucking TARDIS!.
Hmm, So for a while when Wyys was on, I would forget who was next. For that brief moment fully invested in Wyys. The fog detached me from any expectation. So it really hit me over the head to actually see Impulsive Hearts next. And when they played, the fog detached from my mind who played before and who would play next. The fog created distance in strange ways. In the middle of Impulsive Hearts and Wyys felt like it was so long ago, like days ago perhaps. That distance can work in your favor when the band in front of you is awesome. Its the coolest to have Sorry In The Summer on vinyl. That's the LP released 2016. Its fascinating to listen to this many times over before having lyrics before you to read. You are just into how it all sounds like a surfer beach party soundtrack, a sweet innocence. 
To have Danielle in front of me while I occasionally figure out the best angle for a picture, is the best. This moment would repeat with Venus and Donna and Rebecca. I'm all for taking it all in with your own fucking eyes but them eyes recall best what you take down with that camera. Before Sorry, there was the self-titled EP released 2014. This time worn familiarity grows a fondness that blisses out innocently to the dark serious MDB. I'm dancing to this and the lyrics read to me like its about a Miss Daisy Buchanan trapped in a dangerous relationship I believe. Immediately I am reminded of Aimee Mann when she was in T'il Tuesday, Voices Carry. And also, Heather Fortune from Wax Idols with ...hell, all of American Tragic. They make me mindful of that extra layer of suffering, even as you are dancing away. 
Zig
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