Smoosh is made up of sisters Asya and Chloe. Asya sings and plays the keyboard, while Chloe plays the drums. They create some of the most interesting indie-pop I've ever heard. One more thing: Asya is 14 and Chloe is 12. They opened for Eels last night at The Depot, which, ironically, is a 21-and-over venue.
It was an interesting atmosphere with everyone there last night, many of whom were a little tipsy, applauding these two tween girls who were totally rocking out on the stage. All I had was an overpriced Crown & Coke, and I felt a little weird. Regardless, the sounds those two girls made was enough to keep a grin on my face for their entire 45-minute set. Asya seemed very at home on stage, and Chloes beats were complex and frantic. Every song was three minutes of enthusiastic bliss. I guess when you've grown up together, you probably have your shit together. They only have two albums, the second of which was released yesterday, and I picked it up at the show. I was hoping they would be out to autograph it for me, but the merchandise table was next to the bar, so no such luck.
There was a brief intermission before the Eels came out. Eels is basically a band of rotating members centred around one constant--Mark Oliver Everett, or, more commonly known as E. They burst on the scene back in 1996 with their debut album "Beautiful Freak" and the single "Novocaine for the Soul" with a stunning video directed by Mark Romanek. Their next album, "Electro-Shock Blues," dealt with the suicide of E's sister and his mother's battle with cancer. There are currently six albums, and each one delivers something new and different.
Now, when you go to an Eels show, you never really know what's going to happen. It could be E and his acoustic guitar or E and a twelve piece orchestra. Last night's show was a nice little three-piece indie rock set featuring dancy, guitar-driven versions of songs from every album. It was totally different from what I expected, and very enjoyable. Plus, the crowd was really into it, too. The band members were all wearing flight suits and aviator goggles; and, an added bonus was the stern-looking "security guard," a fourth member of the band who stood to the side and, between songs, interjected remarks like, "That's some good calamari!" and "Existentialism!" He also played the triangle or tambourine or danced a jig during a few songs. The best thing about going to a show is seeing something totally unexpected, and that's what I got.
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