Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Ponytail plays the Iron Horse

Sunday night at the Iron Horse Music Hall Baltimore’s Ponytail, and New Yorker’s the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, were at two opposite ends of the entertainment spectrum. While the Pains of Being Pure at Heart stood around onstage looking bored, Ponytail exploded into colorful bursts of sound and wild dance moves.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart were even shown up by the first opener of the night, locals Rabbit Rabbit. Their curly-haired singer Louise Chicoine belted out some enchanting vocals, which although jarring at times, were soothing and seductive overall. Think Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, but miles from the city.

This is not to say the Pains of Being Pure at Heart didn’t sound good ‘- they just provided nothing visually. Their fuzzy guitar tones shone brightly as they do on their self-titled record, but were too watered down to be affecting. In concept, their sound resembles My Bloody Valentine, but without the scope and without the complete disregard for the listener’s eardrums.

Unfortunately this ends up sounding like it should wind up on alternative rock radio alongside the Gin Blossoms. They performed their best song, ‘Come Saturday,’ which features keyboardist Peggy Wang-East’s vocal mixing with lead singer Kip Berman’s to create a memorable harmony.

While light and pristine, the sound was gray and hard to warm up to. Everything was spot-on, though perhaps a bit too calculated and robotic. The band would have suffered little by simply providing more to look at.

During one awkward song break an audience member asked Berman to introduce the band ‘- a seemingly easy task. After only introducing Wang-East, whose uncle was in attendance, the band went right into another song. Their unwillingness to interact added to their dismal aura, though this was quickly turned around by the main act.

Before Ponytail even went on, singer Molly Siegel was doing stretches offstage to warm up her joints. If the Pains of Being Pure at Heart were distant because of crowd wariness, Siegel didn’t think twice about who was watching ‘- she was going to go wild no matter what.

She seemed very in touch with the music, her eyes rolling back in her head as she took it all in. Her persona is that of a small child, energetic and euphoric. Her voice matched this perfectly, with her squeals and squawks complimenting the band very well. She certainly does not sing with words, but with enthusiasm. As if at a campfire sing-along in the jungle, she incorporates animalistic bellows and general otherworldly vocalizations into her performances.

The band itself was impressive, made up of Siegel, drummer Jeremy Hyman and two guitarists, Ken Seeno and Dustin Wong. This left Hyman to pick up the entire rhythm section, which he succeeded in doing and then some. Hyman’s hyperactive drumming is the band’s true backbone, blasting out heavy rhythms and unreal fills.

These frenetic rhythms were met by Seeno’s and Wong’s dueling guitar tones, Wong opting for harsher slashes while Seeno summoned more pleasing tones, like one might hear in a more recent Dirty Projectors song. Wong was highly animated, almost as much as Siegel, jumping around and kicking his legs into the air, similar to David Byrne’s running-in-place dancing in ‘Stop Making Sense.’

The band soared through many tracks from their most recent record, last year’s ‘Ice Cream Spiritual’ (We*Are*Free), including ‘Sky Drool,’ ‘Late For School’ and album closer ‘Die Allman Bruder.’

‘Late For School’ found Wong erupting in guttural howls while Siegel did her best to imitate tropical birds until the song broke down almost to a stop, where Seeno realizes ‘Oh no, I’m late for school!’

‘Sky Drool’ picked up where ‘Late For School’ left off, once again rumbling and tumbling with complete disregard for structure in favor of multiple bouncing movements. Seeno, Siegel and Wong combined forces for a triumphant ululation of ‘ah’s ‘- imagine a pack of the Wicked Witch’s flying monkeys closing in on Dorothy. ‘Die Allman Bruder’ may be the most consistently upbeat track on ‘Ice Cream Spiritual,’ guitars ringing out steadily as Siegel howled on.

During the final song, Siegel forgot the stage and jumped right into the crowd, inducing dancing in about a five-foot radius of her being. After she found her way back to her band, the song fell into a wild blaze of guitars and drums before finally puttering out.

Ponytail sure earned an encore, but resisted. It was understandable – anyone would be exhausted after such a vigorous set. But not to worry ‘- they’ll be back July 14 opening for fellow Baltimoreans Yeasayer.

Ian Nelson can be reached at [email protected].

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

All Massachusetts Daily Collegian Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *