Tartufi at St. Olaf College

I mentioned in my previous post that I might not be able to check out the band Tartufi who were to play at tonight. I did, in fact, manage to see them and it was, in fact, more interesting than Romantica.

I showed up just as doors opened at the venue and was impressed right off the bat by the wide array of guitar pedals and drum equipment. Now, a lot of equipment can sometimes signal a really awful band who happen to have wealthy relatives who support their "artistic endeavors." Tartufi are not that band. Hailing from San Francisco, California, the band play a blend of electronic, rock and atmospheric music. The band consist of Lynne Angel on guitar, bass, vocals and pedals, and Brian Gorman on drums, bass, keyboards, pedals and about 800 other things.

Again, many toys can mean an unbearable noise so I was initially skeptical. That skepticism last all of two minutes. At the end of that two minutes I realized that Tartufi were there to play music, with a little noise thrown in for good measure. Angel and Gorman make the most complex music I've ever seen created live by only two human beings. They looped everything possible and continued to play over it, creating lush soundscapes that would instantly switch to heavy-as-hell, overdriven bass, tribal drum madness.

What most impressed me was the ability of both performers not only to loop the music, but to continue to play over it with one another. Looping is a difficult thing as it is, but two people looping different parts has the potential to be chaos. Angel and Gorman were consistantly on the same page, however, cueing one another with both looks and hand signals. That trust in your fellow performer, as well as that connection, was wonderful to watch.

The only thing that seemed to be lacking, in my mind, is more visual elements. Angel and Gorman were, as I said, wonderful to watch, but Tartufi's music screams to have multimedia elements added. Video elements or even dancers would be incredible. Tartufi's show, as it is, is so carnal and involved that adding more to it visually to create a complete sensory experience could give these two the push they need to be huge, especially with the Sigur Ros, Explosions in the Sky and Radiohead crowd.

For fans of Sigur Ros, First Communion Afterparty and Animal Collective.