An UnEffected Display

Saturday night’s show at Ithaca’s Wildfire Lounge was one of reinvention. A local Ithaca band, The Cos, transported the audience to the nitty-gritty streets of New York City. Cornell group Blow! — who recorded their debut EP on a laptop in the bathrooms of Willard-Straight and Balch arch — created a sound as big and full as an orchestra. The headliners, Brooklyn’s Asobi Seksu, may have made their reputation blasting layered guitars in the tradition of the best elements of shoegaze, but brought out the acoustic guitars and piano for their return to Ithaca.

The first band of the night hailed from downtown Ithaca, but announced they were playing songs from New York City. Though only using an acoustic guitar and a snare drum, the band covered a whole host of New York-centric songs as well as played originals from the group’s mainstay, Cosmo Alpern. They draw from the anti-folk aesthetics of Greenwich Village stalwarts like the Moldy Peaches and Jeffrey Lewis, and from their first song (a mash-up of radio friendly hits like MIA’s “Paper Planes” and Jay Z’s “Empire State of Mind”) the duo established that they had no shortage of street cred. The group then explored the isolation that one can feel in the Big City — playing songs ranging from Paul Simon’s plea to Art Garfunkel: “The Only Living Boy in New York,” to Johnny Thunders’ vividly described bottom of the barrel lifestyle: “Chinese Rocks.” Alpern’s original lyrics, such as “there goes my selective memory again/telling me I should believe in love,” also reflected the isolation that has defined much of the anti-folk movement.

The next band to play was Blow!, a duo that built one instrument upon another to create a sound that won the chatty crowd’s full attention. While their debut release, Overrated, shows a band striving for a big pop sound, their show on Saturday revealed an act that was just as comfortable playing in an intimate setting. The band played a set that demonstrated a mastery of songwriting and the strong musicianship of the two musicians. Front man Bruce Hyde’s voice was impassioned and weathered in the best sense, adding depth to the instrumentals. Though they built their backing tracks on an electric drum pad and effects pedals, the band proved they weren’t an solely an effects band when they walked into the audience and performed an “unplugged” number that remained true to their sound. The band returned to the makeshift stage for a cover of LCD Soundsystem’s “All My Friends,” transforming the upbeat electronics of the song into a ragged tune that fit right in with Blow!’s aesthetic.

The night closed with a rare intimate set from shoegazers (or post-shoegazers depending on who you ask) Asobi Seksu, who returned to Ithaca after a Fanclub Collective. This Brooklyn band has made its reputation on shows that are usually “pretty fucking loud,” as front woman Yuki Chikudate told the audience. Tonight, though, was the end of the band’s three-week tour in support of their new album Rewolf, which features acoustic renderings of old classics as well as new tracks, recorded at London’s famed Olympic Studios. These recordings were done at the bequest of their United Kingdom label head, Chikudate told The Sun after the concert, and while originally marketed as a tour-only release, U.S. label Polyvinyl pushed for a full-fledged release and tour. And so, for three weeks after their yearlong tour supporting their previous release, Howl, Asobi Seksu has been back on the road with acoustic guitars, leaving the effects pedals back home.

The show was a personal and intimate event within itself, as the audience crowded around a band that is typically known to wail on instruments in a much bigger venue. While many of the songs were recognizable, they were transformed to meet the new abilities of the band. Songs like “New Years” and “Thursday” (off their strongest LP, Citrus) which were previously notable for the engulfing swirl of sounds the band created, became precious gems that were at once tangible and ethereal. Even covers, like Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Never Understand,” were swept into this treatment. Parts that had previously been played by electronics and effects, were replaced with xylophone and tambourine, giving the group a much more indie pop/twee vibe. Through the changes though, one element stayed the same: Chikudate’s voice was still the center of the sound, a strong and controlling pierce that was melodic and beautiful while revealing the power of the singer.

Chikudate maintains that Asobi Seksu “always knew we wanted to be an overwhelmingly big band,” with no separation between the different instruments. They have no plans to become an acoustic band, and their next record is definitely going to be a return to their shoegaze roots. However, Chikudate did concede that it was good to go over old material and the process definitely “gave new life to old songs.” As she put it, “we don’t want to just be another loud guitar shoegaze band.”