El Ten Eleven debuted brand-new material last night at RecordBar
El Ten Eleven with Kodak to Graph
RecordBar, Kansas City
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
In its decade together, El Ten Eleven has consistently delivered its own niche brand of instrumental math-rock, married to the midtempo melodies of, say, an indie-rock group. While bassist and guitarist Kristian Dunn and drummer Tim Fogarty have never truly hopped the pop line into the mainstream, the duo has still managed to garner quite a large and dedicated cult following.
Despite the booking falling on a weeknight and the suppressive summer Missouri weather, El Ten Eleven’s performance last night at RecordBar was a packed house. The two boys from Los Angeles delivered over an hour of finely looped melodies and snappy four-to-the-floor rhythms, which had the mostly male audience dancing with abandon as drinks rattled off the tables.
Over the years, Dunn and Fogarty have worked to create a library of signature playing styles and techniques. This sonic bag of tricks was in full use and in no short supply. Dunn utilized a slew of stringed instruments including a fretless bass, a double-neck bass and guitar, and a six-string bass, all run through about 10 different pedals. Fogarty played a more or less traditional-looking drum kit but included several electronic drum pads scattered throughout the mix.
The guitar and bass lines were built up one layer at a time, and the drums followed suit. As Dunn changed instruments or picked up his e-bow, Fogarty would be bouncing between his drum pads and actual kit. The most impressive moves of the night came from Dunn’s signature finger-tap and slide progressions.
About halfway through the set, Dunn announced that he and Fogarty would play some brand-new material; these compositions had yet to be named. While the hooks were unfamiliar, the same tricks were consistent with the rest of El Ten Eleven’s catalog. This was an effective bridge from the old favorites to the new jams. The main departure from the old material in these new offerings was an emphasis of Fogarty’s presence on the electric drum and bass pads.
Following this handful of new songs, Dunn conducted some informal polling to gauge the audience’s reaction. Finding the reviews favorable, he then revealed that this tour was booked for the sole purpose of determining whether or not audiences felt the new material could stand up to the old. So far, so good, it seems.
Before going back into their better-known material, the boys were confronted with a heckler in the crowd. It’s possible that the man didn’t know he was testing the band’s patience, one would like to hope, but it was apparent that his constant interjections were starting wear on Dunn. Kudos to this deft duo, as once the music began, they seemed to push out their distractions.
Near the end of the set, Dunn revealed that El Ten Eleven does not do encores. While many were satisfied with this statement, some audience members still felt a bit letdown by this unforeseen twist. To compensate, Dunn stated that they were done for the evening, feigned a walk offstage, and then re-emerged immediately to coyly thank the audience for its support and reassure the crowd that there would be three more songs to play. El Ten Eleven had held onto its best cards until the end, finishing the night with “Transitions” and the ever-popular “Swerving.”
Leftovers: Opening in support of El Ten Eleven was Kodak to Graph, the stage name for Michael Maleki, who hails from Florida. His music combined original beats and live synths over appropriated hip-hop and R&B tracks. While maybe not as impressive to watch in comparison with the precision and craft displayed by El Ten Eleven, Kodak still managed to hold the attention of audience members across the room, inciting numerous compliments and accolades.
