285 Kent Ave is probably one of the most DIY venues in Williamsburg, Brooklyn that I know about. Anything put on by Todd P is guaranteed to be wholly representative of underground Brooklyn and beyond, and he does book a lot of shows at various venues, but 285 Kent Ave is a great example of an empty industrial space turned into art/music venue. It may have little to no ventilation, it may only have one bathroom; but it does have a great sound system, bands worth catching, and also great tunes in between songs that I suspect are mostly DJ’d from Todd’s personal iTunes collection.

Tonight’s lineup featured Floris Van Hoof, Dolphins into the Future, Monopoly Child Star Searchers (which is Spencer Clark from Skaters), and headliner Ducktails. My friends and I got there just in time for Floris Van Hoof’s performance, which consisted of him showing a video using a 16mm projector while providing live analog synthesizer sound. The video started with several still life shots of mostly indistinguishable objects and scenes close up. Was that an angry buzzard? Corn on the cob with cobwebs? Tangled multi-colored wires? All with a black and yellow bullseye flying in and out of the picture on a separate filmstrip? Maybe I’m way off.

While we were given these still images to ponder, Van Hoof evoked a droning, spacey soundtrack from his synth. Then the sound started to increase in intensity, as the film moved into fast-moving smoky, abstract images, and black and white images of creepy insects with lots of legs, like spiders and centipedes. The two analog mediums coincided until they both abruptly stopped, having reached the peak of intensity.

Dolphins into the Future, the musical project of Lieven Martens, started in total darkness. Actually, his whole set was in the dark. He sat at a table full of samplers and electronic sound-making devices, and addressed the crowd in a heavily effected low voice that sounded like it was meant to be more of a muffled coming from another room type of effect. He pushed buttons and turned knobs that made blooping sounds reminiscent of The Twilight Zone. It was all very ambient and atmospheric. Kids straight up layed down on the hard cement floor to let the sound overtake them, like an electronic meditation. It would have been an even better trance if it weren’t for the sound of beer cans being popped open by the bar and the thud through the wall from the concert next door at Glasslands, but it still felt like a long lullaby. After a while I started to feel sleepy, but I couldn’t bring myself to close my eyes except to yawn. After even longer, I could feel the rest of the room start to get restless as well. Just when I was thinking, how long is this really going to go on, the sound spiked dramatically; startling anyone still tranced out into a rude awakening.

Next was the more upbeat Monopoly Child Star Searchers, who sat at the same table with what looked like the same set up, but with an additional synth. He announced that he had two songs, and then Ducktails would be up. Hoots and applause echoed for a minute in the space, and then he began playing the keys while turning knobs, bobbing his head sporting a CIA baseball cap. This time, we had a dim red light to see by, so I was able to get some decent photos for the first time.

There were a few people still sitting on the floor, but most had gotten up and started to dance. Clark stood up too, and upped the dance factor with what sounded like effected bagpipes. He writhed with the music, as if it was all coming through every part of his body and the music was him. The crowd moved and danced even more. His set was short, but it was a great example of how sometimes it doesn’t matter what style of music you ultimately prefer when you feel a beat so strong that it feels like it’s moving through you, you have no choice but to move with it.

Zac Davis

Suddenly there were six people on the stage setting up (ok, one person was the in-house sound man). The electro-table was escorted off the stage and a full band set up was beginning to take form. Since Ducktails is the solo project of Matt Mondanile, I had a flashback to the Delicate Steve show where the solo project translated live into a fantastically attention-holding full band. Just the thought of a similar scenario upped the excitment ante. But, before we had the pleasure of Ducktails, we had the raw solo electric guitar stylings of Zac Davis. And by musical stylings, I mean super raw, distorted, improvised guitar shredding. That’s the best way I can think of to describe it. He played for maybe all of ten minutes and there was almost an out of control mosh pit. Well, maybe it was one completely obliterated drunk guy being pushed around, but that guy was having a great time. Said drunk guy screamed for one more song, and Davis obliged for another few minutes.

Then, Matt Mondanile and his crew of bandmates took the stage. The low red lighting was casting amazing shadows on the wall, and Mondanile’s wah wah pedaled guitar changed the whole vibe. Ducktails must have a whole new catalogue of music that I was previously unaware of, because I was expecting more experimental electronic songs. This was, in comparison, more straightforward pop, but not your average straightforward pop. A friend was very decided on their sound being a cross between Teenage Fanclub and My Bloody Valentine, but I think it was more like if The Beach Boys were a punk band. Regardless, they killed it. Mondanile sang in his distorted echoing vocals while keeping his foot on the wah pedal (and also at times wildin’ out on a guitar solo), while the bassist and lead guitarist were rocking out nearly back to back, and the drummer bangin’ his beat proper. The dance floor was really shakin’ now, with guys and girls alike getting down. I mean full out dancing their heart out. It was nothing short of brilliant. There were a few couples dancing with each other that Mondanile took note of, and prefaced one song with, “dance with the one you love!” There was definitely a lot of heart involved, both on the stage and on the floor, with Ducktails being the highlight of it all.

This looks like it was the last show for Floris Van Hoof for a while, but this video is almost an exact replica of his set Saturday night. Dolphins into the Future has a handful of may dates, the soonest in his native Belgium, and a couple in Berlin. Monopoly Child Star Searchers has no listed upcoming dates, but you can check out one of his tracks here. It also looks like Ducktails will be taking a break from playing shows, until the end of May when they have several dates in the UK. However, all tracks from the latest full release, Ducktails III: Arcade Dynamics, can be heard on their MySpace.