Two songs into New York’s own best electronic dance Holy Ghosts! show opening set at Summerstage I turn to Woody and say: “They’re a disco band”.
No sampling? Little synth? Bass heavy grooves with the occasional (and very very good lick) thrown in. This is disco not dance.
I was right and wrong and during Holy Ghost! subdued set, they eventually became a funk band and a dance band and by the end of the set became what they are: an electronic rock band worthy to be mentioned in the same LCD Soundsystem and Hot Chip, and the missing link between James Murphy and Drop The Lime.
But they weren’t great.
They were good sure, but the mix was not good (it sucked all night), the vocals were a little low, the sound was a little low, it was too often blurry when it shoulda been fully formed.
Before that, Woody will review the other two bands elsewhere however, Hercules and Love Affair were a dance phenom and the best act of the night and Hot Chip lost the dynamic tension of their set and failed to mainstrong an hour and half though they ended str
Woody was ecstatic in his review of Holy Ghost! but tnight he is distracted, mainly by the two girls sitting behind us. The brunette Daniela claims Holy Ghost! “up beat and happy. Even enough to cheer up this jaded new yorker” and since she walked out half way through Hot Chip’s set and didn’t like Hercules and love affair, I will take her comment under advisement.
But I don’t agree with it.
Last night Holy Ghost gave the game away early. During a pretty good version of their excellent “Hold On” from 2007, they disco out a keyboards lick and it is joyful and danceable but similtaneously, professional instead of impassioned. There is something holding em back.
All their biggest songs are here, “Static On A Wire,” “”I Will Come Back” “Hold On” but none evolve into a major groove, none grip the way they should.In the mid-70s, I had a friend who played for the house band in a disco. The band’s job was no not stand out as performers but to keep the dancefloor filled. Holy Ghost! can do that. But they can do a lot more as well and they didn’t last night.