Motopony is a band that’s hard to classify and that might explain part of the appeal of this group that blurs the lines between rock, folk, funk, blues and soul music.
Fronted by Tacoman Daniel Blue the band delivered a headlining set at Neumos on a wet and rainy Tuesday night that seemed to transport the crowd of around 100 or so in attendance to a deserty musical oasis where the sounds coming from the stage felt as if they were being made with the sole purpose of transcending genres.
The desert vibe came from both the band’s wardrobe decisions (Blue has a background in fashion design) and the music itself. One of Motopony’s guitarist — there were up to three guitars going at a time throughout the set– wore a poncho and Blue sported a double-breasted, faded pink Western shirt that looked like he wore it while sweating through an afternoon in the Sahara. Adding to the desert effect were grooving tribal drums, guitars and organs that accompanied Blue’s distinct howls, facial expressions and gestures. All of this made Blue appear more like a shaman creating mystical soundscapes than the frontman of a band.
Of course simply labeling Motopony desert music isn’t doing the band justice. Some songs were practically poppy dance-funk numbers while others leaned more heavily on an almost jam band folk feeling. Somehow these contrasting styles all came together and worked to create some near genre-defying music. This genre-defying aspect of Motopony’s music likely comes from hip-hop producer Buddy Ross who is also a member of Motopony and manned some of the six organs/keybaords (I’m told that number is soon to be eight) on stage.
However you want to classify Motopony it’s tough to deny the band is fascinating to listen to and even more fascinating to see live, which is where the group truly shines. But what will be the most fascinating will be watching Motopony’s career blossom since the band recently signed its first record deal with New York label tinyOGRE.
The evening had three openers all of whom seemed like they were regulars at the famous Conor Byrne open mic night and each successively built on the momentum of the previous performer building up to Motopony’s set. Tony Kevin Jr. played a 30-minute set of emotional singer-songwriter material. Kris Orlowski played a set of pop-flavored folk rock with his band and the Courage practically stole the show with what was unfortunately the band’s final show.
Fronted by Noah Gunderson, the Courage’s dynamic of male/female harmonies and guitar/violin interplay made for some enjoyable folk rock with an emphasis on the rock. The band didn’t explain why they were breaking up (although Gunderson did tell the crowd they performed their first show as a band at Neumos 18 months prior), but Gunderson is pursing a solo career so expect to hear more from him in the future. Also expect to see the names of Tony Kevin Jr. and Kris Orlowski more too as both showed promising potential to become players in the city’s already busy folk and Americana scene.
