The Robot Ate Me: Djien

Live Photo Blog
Atlas Clothing: April 4, 2007

I need to get my act together. My SXSW Photo Blog is going up in slow increments. Painfully slow. So slow, in fact, that I'm now posting other Live Photo Blogs in the process...

Which brings us to The Robot Ate Me (MySpace).

I first saw Ryland Bouchard perform in a little art gallery in Moscow, ID. His performance was emotional and riveting. And that's what I was looking forward to as I arrived at Atlas Clothing last night.

However, the performance we would get covered a much different territory.

Bouchard kicked off with a three-song acoustic set before resorting to his drum machines, loop pedals, and random instruments (including his signature clarinet). What followed was a blend of conceptual noise, on par with a less upbeat Animal Collective, and an eerie waking nightmare.

The audience, to say the least, was stunned. Atlas is an all ages venue and, while the previous show I attended at this location consisted of many "of agers," this show skewed vastly younger.

While the Abercrombie mix expecting the poppier side of The Robot Ate Me covered their ears, a select few smiled in adoration. Those hiding their ears were stunned and bemused and we found it humorous.

The conceptual piece was lengthy, opening with screeches and a looped and fluttering and squeaking clarinet.

In the middle of this lengthy work, Bouchard slowly transitioned into "They Ate Themselves" (a personal favorite).

Little was heard off On Vacation, one of the most haunting albums ever recorded as the thematic element is an eerie recount of genocide put to music reminiscent of the 1920s and 1930s. Adamantly anti-war, the album is a compliment to the anti-war movement in sheer shock value.

Bouchard concluded with "Bad Feelings" off Carousel Waltz (2005), his most pop-ridden album

The Robot Ate Me: Djien (mp3)

The Robot Ate Me: They Ate Themselves (mp3)