By Jhoni Jackson
The now-defunct (or at least on a long hiatus) troupe the Back Pockets often divided music fans into two sides: Those who appreciated the band’s live theatrics, and those who thought the shenanigans were a distraction from the weirdo folk-rock tunes.
Now you can have both. There’s no need to choose.
You want noise and theatrics and the whole artsy shebang? Consult Perfect High Fives Every Time, which includes both ringleader Emily Kempf and former BP member Billy Mitchell on his signature ladder and kitchenware drumming. Check out Perfect High Fives Every Time on Bandcamp.
If you subscribe to the latter opinion (or if you’re in the gray take-it-or-leave-it area), there’s Iron Jayne. Fronted by Kempf, Iron Jayne harnesses the pop sentimentalities of the Back Pockets—and expands them tenfold.
In only four months, they’ve already seen a handful of lineup changes. The Back Pockets operated similarly before disbanding last summer. But Kempf says tomorrow’s show at 529 marks the finalized incarnation: Garrett Goss (of Gun Party) on drums, Ryan Odom on guitar, Vegan Coke’s Chad LeBlanc on bass and Kempf handling keys and singing.
“And there’s no theater, and I don’t plan on there being theater probably ever,” she says.
There you have it. A show during the last FLUX Projects, however, involved dancers—as did a recent partnering-up performance with Cousin Dan at the Star Bar.
“There’s going to be projections,” Kempf backtracks. “I do want some arty stuff, but not at all at the level that Back Pockets was.”
Just weeks ago Kempf released a video for “Ship,” which remains the only Iron Jayne song available online. Both the sound and visuals are crisp and simplistic. It’s a danceable pop number that recalls little of the Back Pockets aside from the shameless, unabashed nature of their live performances.
Is the rest of this new material similarly stripped-down?
“I guess just a more complicated version of ‘Ship,’” Kempf explains, “but with lots of cymbals and drums and…guitars. It’s definitely pop. It’s pop, but its more layered than that one. So if you just multiplied ship by five…I don’t know. It’s more rock.”
Check out Iron Jayne at 529 Wednesday, January 9. The lineup also includes Lonesome Leash, Spirit Temple and a DJ set from Moreland Brando, better known as Cousin Dan.
