Fischerspooner - review

Fischerspooner, 08May09
Webster Hall, NYC

With apologies to Ms. Spears, Casey Spooner is the true ringmaster -- all eyes on him. Whether he truly is an egomaniac or just accesses this persona on stage matters little; even a casual observer would crown him a performance art powerhouse.

Casey's crew consisted of five porcelain doll dancers conducting an avant-garde ballet, decked in torn leotards, bondage gear and whatever shiny things were left on the rack at American Apparel. Their movements were modern and frenetic, embellishing on the electrobeats with incoherent chatter and sadistic smiles to "The Best Revenge" and "A Kick in the Teeth" At times they were robotic and silent, others they darted around mirrors with motorcycle helmets, orbiting Casey in deliberate motions that forced the crowd to notice a lyric, bass line, or (of course) Casey himself. They attended to him with feathered capes, and in return, he played footage of their rehearsals and how they beat out hordes of dancers who never made the cut.

It was an eye-popping spectacle to say the least, and as Casey humbly noted before leaving the stage, "that is what they call a show."

Fischerspooner accomplishes something live that none of the 200+ act I have seen have been able to do: a complete sensory experience. One part modern dance, one part fashionista-tacular, and a shitload of amazing musical performance.

Casey Spooner owns the stage with enough LCD and stage-light manipulation to induce epilepsy, and bass-lines that I am pretty sure vibrated my pancreas.

Musically, every track was solid and accompanied by the type of interpretive dance that would make Cirque du Soleil piss its glossy self. Favorite tracks were "A Kick in the Teeth" , "We Are Electric" , "Supply & Demand" , and "Danse en France." The latter, in particular, was interesting because in the last :45 of the song, it was taken from its original deliberate delivery to the D.I.M. remix (which is an amazing 145bpm electro punch in the face). As far as "surprise likes," this show definitely made me love "Supply & Demand" a lot more.

It was the all-around experience. "A Must See," as the critic douchebags usually call it. But- you must see it.

Set-List
Amuse Bouche
Happy
Get Confused
Money Can't Dance
A Kick in the Teeth
Emerge
Supply & Demand
Danse en France
Sweetness
Cloud
The Best Revenge
We Are Electric
Never Win

- The Majr & Joe Gizzi
Photos by the brilliant Chris Gamio