Everyone has “that local band” that you wish to become mega-huge so you can say, “I knew these guys before they were on KCRW!” I have a quite a long list of those bands and some have made it and some haven’t. One of those acts currently in the “in-between” right now is Oakland’s Wallpaper. Eric Fredric’s (aka Ricky Reed) disco ball freak-out fest combines the mindlessness fun of current pop music with a bite of tongue-in-cheek humor with well produced jams. So it was nice to see this unusual act celebrate their #STUPiDFACEDD EP release party with fellow Bay Area friends, A B & the Sea and Chicago’s The Hood Internet.
A B & The Sea
A B & The Sea
, frankly, is becoming something of a teeny bopper boy band that actually play instruments. I get it, okay? Your beach rock flavor and slightly loveable demeanor wasn’t enough. You had to make a song called “Sunshine” and have dozens of sorority girls and Abercrombie member card holders sing every word to the song (a few guys were singing it too…yes I’m judging you). Granted I’ve grown out of pointing and laughing at bands that have chosen the darkside, but this just got irritating after a while. Even the audience began rolling their eyes over the cheese exuding from these guys. I will say they seemed to be having fun on stage and that was a bit engaging. However, A B & The Sea now know who their audience is and is clearly catering toward that.
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A B & The Sea – Bone Dry from Boys and Girls EP (2010)
The Hood Internet
The Hood Internet
Next up was mash-up artist The Hood Internet. The show pretty much consisted of ABX standing behind a laptop with a wall of lights synchronized to the music he was mixing and mashing. Every once in the while he would let an audience member use his M-Audio drum-pad during one of the songs, but basically it was a DJ-party for 40 or so minutes. As far as the mixes go, it was a range of Lupe Fiasco x Handsome Furs, Warren G x Nate Dogg x Toro Y Mo, Empire Of The Sun x Wild Nothing, and even more indie-rock mashes with modern hip-hop. Nothing much else to report other than the fact that a majority of the crowd turned into a properly warmed up dancefest. This set the stage perfectly for our star act.
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The Hood Internet – #FACEDDVALUE (Wallpaper vs. Genesis)
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The Hood Internet – Comfortable Up Here (Lil Wayne vs Royksopp)
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The Hood Internet – Save Me Concubine (Ghostface Killah vs Beirut)
Wallpaper.
Wallpaper.
The audience was ready to go T-Rex as they chanted Wallpaper until Ricky Reed himself strolled on stage with two drummers (including other member Arjun Singh) and his own diva-esqe back-up singer/dancer. Opening with a few tracks from the brand spanking new #STUPiDFACEDD EP, Wallpaper ripped it open with glorious energy and unconventional dance moves. The new tracks are way more polished and looser than the songs from Doodoo Face, but take that as a positive. Shotgun and Okay are heavy on the bass and even heavier on the hilarity. It almost seems like they are poking fun at their audience while embracing it at the same time.
Wallpaper.
Wallpaper.
Older tracks made their appearance as well. We’re talking material from 2008’s T-Rex like Evrytm We Do It and Txt Me Yr Love. But it was songs from 2009’s Doodoo Face that got the crowd really excited. I caught myself jamming it out to I Got Soul, I’m So Wasted, Gettin Drip, and It’s My Birthday, basking in all it’s auto-tuned glory. I felt silly but it was infectious. That’s really the point of Wallpaper’s music to begin with; letting yourself go even though you know what you’re doing is ridiculous.
Wallpaper.
The show ended sweetly with a lounge-like version of the club hit, #STUPiDFACEDD which inevitably exploded into the song itself. The crowd went utterly bananas as I had to protect myself from flying drunks and whatever they were spilling. But seriously, what did I expect? This is was a release party for an EP called #STUPiDFACEDD. Anyway, Wallpaper crushed the sold out audience and is now moving their way up the party-music ladder. And it’s about time.
Wallpaper. – Shotgun by wallpaper
Wallpaper. – FUCKING BEST SONG EVERRR by wallpaper
P.S. – scroll down for a .gif I made from a weird “crowd shot” series I took.
Wallpaper. / For more pictures click this photo
BONUS: If you're on Reddit. You might have noticed these pictures I took at the show.