Bradford Cox playing with Deerhunter
Right off the bat, I’ll admit this is my first year attending CMJ and the massive schedule is enough to make one’s head spin. Not to mention all the multiple venues. However, one set I was bound and determined not to miss was Atlas Sound; the solo project of Deerhunter’s Bradford Cox.
I had a chance to see Atlas Sound back at ATP in September and eagerly awaited his new album Logos, which was just deemed “best new music” by Pitchfork today. ATP was an interesting set that found the musician fiddling for five minutes with various knobs while the crowd waited patiently. But I found Cox to have a truly delightful stage presence, chatting with the audience and cracking self-deprecating jokes about his skills. Incidentally this was the very same day where he later announced that Deerhunter would not be playing together for a while, leading to break-up rumor speculation that has yet to be confirmed or denied.
His cheerful demeanor was present last night at the CMJ set as well. Backed by one of his openers the Selmanaires, my first impression was that this time around it would be less personal. Until he started completely mugging for the audience in such an endearing way, I just want to hug him. If he does happen to read this (shut up! One can dream!), he will probably think I am totally creepy. But I swear, he’s so loveable that I can’t help it. He mocked those of us with CMJ badges, “I think I’m supposed to be playing for all you people with those orange things so I’m more marketable” and swore profusely when he broke a string on his acoustic guitar “well now I don’t know what to do, the whole set is ****ed!” He stopped the show to pose for pictures at various angles, calling out, “Who has a camera!”
Perhaps I find Atlas Sound to be such a fascinating live performance because it’s so rare to see that type of interaction with a crowd, let alone from a guy who is known for tunes that struggle and fight with the concepts of loneliness, depression, and illness. While he played a pared-down version of “Walkabout,” that didn’t sound nearly as cheerful sans Noah Lennox, before heading straight into “Shelia,” he didn’t forget to revisit his first album. “Quarantine” is a particular favorite of mine and was truly the night’s stand-out in my mind.
Enjoy this exclusive MTV footage taken earlier in the year of Cox playing with Deerhunter.
