Concert review: Fishboy at Hailey’s in Denton (August 15)

by Sarah Crisman of My Denton Music

One cannot profess to be an expert of Denton music without an endearing familiarity of Fishboy. The infamous fool-for-Denton rock act finally made their way to my I Heart Denton punchcard Saturday night at Hailey's for their Nom EP release party.

Frontman Eric Michener put together a fantastic bill kicked off by the dark and fairly dramatic bluegrass stylings of Dust Congress -- another group I should have seen before this point, but what can I say? There are a lot of cool local bands I have yet to see live, and I go to shows six nights a week. The well is deep. I would definitely listen to Dust Congress whilst in a foul mood, and it would be perfect. Sometimes you need to hear something to wallow in. There's a sort of resolve in gorgeously pained music. I was starting to get chest pains from Dust Congress aching vocal stylings, but the very last song pepped up just enough to clear the stage energy for the uber-cute brother/sister folk duo, Watercolor Paintings.

Hailing from Santa Barbara, Watercolor Paintings reminds me very much of She & Him (but I guess all So-Cal folk duos are bound to be slightly reminiscent of each other). The little family played a short set to the modest crowd. I feel like they might have felt more comfy at a house show. No matter, though, as the crowd was happy to scoot in close to the stage just in time for Iji (pronounced "eee-hee" and not -- as Fishboy wishfully suggested over mini-cupcakes at the merch table -- an A-Ha! cover band).

Iji was certainly the most bubble-gum of the lineup, with just enough edge to make sense as a lead in for Fishboy. My favorite part of the evening happened during the Iji set, when the band coerced the crowd to line up on the stairs of the stage in the manner of a choir, face the remaining audience (read: the sound guys), and sing the final la-la-la’s of their last song. Any band that lets me pretend to be in the Polyphonic Spree is okay in my book. I would suggest Iji to anyone who favors Ben Folds and Sunbears (and similar fares of eclectic indie pop).

And then there was Fishboy and the EP debut of Nom.

Critically-acclaimed by the likes of Paste Magazine and Denton rock aficionados, Fishboy is a four-piece eclectic rock act best known for their rock opera, Albatross, and a fierce love of Denton I can’t help but admire (check the album art on Little D and you’ll see the likeness of very our Morrison’s Corn Kits). The band is rife with lo-fi pop roots with an energetic rhythm section and the well-timed occasion of horns and piano (I’m a sucker for any keyboardist that can whip out a trumpet at just the right moment). It’s easy to see how Fishboy has landed tours with the likes of Spoon, The Decemberists, and Of Montreal. They put on a great rock show (and that’s not just the cupcakes talking). The world is paying attention to Denton specifically because of acts like this. Music of this caliber earns critical acclaim for a reason.

To fully appreciate the magic of Nom, a little history lesson is in order. Nearly every track on 2007’s Albatross was written in the order it appears on the album. Several songs were completed and then scrapped for not quite fitting in with the flow of the album. When it was time to start the follow up to Albatross, the band realized that any attempt to use these songs would result in a lyrically confused hot mess. It made more sense to quilt the scraps into an alternate rock opera reality.

Michener decided to hand over all musical duties and decisions to a local group of super-producers known as the Om Nom Noms. Michener took one trip into the studio, recorded vocals and scratch guitar, the guitar was deleted, and the Noms were left to their own reconstructive devices -- as one of the producers told me last night: “It was the most ass-backwards process” imaginable.

If you have any admiration whatsoever for clever rock, you can catch Fishboy’s fall tour (with plenty of dates with Iji & Watercolor Paintings).