A couple weeks ago, we caught High Places at (le) Poisson Rouge. Their music is pretty good: they employ complex, tribal rhythms with eclectic and original samples. The vocals are simple but pleasant.

Unfortunately, their live performance has not quite caught up. I can see that they, like many other bands (and myself), are grappling with how to make live electronic music interesting for the audience. But they're losing ground in aspects that should be easy wins.

The band consists of Robert Barber and Mary Pearson. Barber spent the duration of the set banging on one or more pads with drumsticks to trigger samples, occasionally pausing to manipulate unseen knobs or buttons. I tried to figure out which parts of the beats he was producing, and eventually decided that he had just one pad and was producing one component of the beat in each song. He was very focused and intense and rarely spoke between songs.

Pearson mostly sang and manipulated, but occasionally added percussion touches like shakers and sleigh bells. Her vocals were barely audible most of the time (moreso than most indie bands), which I found very frustrating. She scrupulously avoided eye contact with the audience, and I sometimes wondered if she wasn't tweaking knobs so much just to look busy. There was also a strong impression that she was giving as little attention and effort as possible to the singing.

I give them credit for not using a laptop, at least not that I could see. The drumming at least gives the show some physicality, although there is still a strange disconnect between action and sound. But if your primary job is to sing, why not make some attempt to engage the audience?