Last night marks the 3rd time I've seen The Polyamorous Affair play. Although, I doubt the word band is the most accurate term to describe them. Their presentation is more performance art glam disco then a presentation of musical talents in the traditional sense. The Polyamorous Affair, lead by Eddie Chacon and Sissy Sainte-Marie, for the most part, besides a some xylophone jamming, sing along to tracks controlled live on some audio software like Reason. Last night at the Echo, the crowd seemed to be split between fans who appreciate this band on such a level that they are willing to suspend their disbelief enough to get lost in a utopian disco mind f**k, dancing to the spacey synth sounds and cosmic video projections all pulsating to that oh so common 4/4 kick, hi-hat, snare dance beat, and the shy onlookers, like myself, who are fascinated enough by the spectacle of irony taking place on the stage that we bob our heads in bewildered admiration. A friend of mine called it elevator music for hipsters, which i think is arguably valid, as its hard to swallow lyrics like "We boogie woogie / party all night long / from discotheque discotheque til the break of dawn" as anything but well, ridiculous. That is, unless you choose to digest this music as some sort of over the top satirical commentary, which is how i choose to enjoy it. (And yes, I eat music :)
I think it was early on during the set, when the repeated lyric, "Take your fashion... to the limit!" came along that my friends and I looked at each other laughing with that "oh my f**king gawd" look on our faces. Not that I was trying to comprehend the appeal of this act. I love watching this group and with a couple more drinks in me, I'd have had no problem dancing to the Polyamorous Affair for the similar reasons that we move to something like Kraftwerk's Autobahn. Except that The Polyamorous Affair are a bit more fun and engaging. (Especially compared to Kraftwerk nowadays). Their new album, Bolshevik Disco comes out on Manimal Vinyl in July. During the middle of their set, Chacon put a box full of copies of the album out at the end of the stage, I made sure to grab one. I'm listening now and looking forward to the next time i catch them. I'll either be watching from the back or possibly dancing in the mix with some drunk art school girls who I fear might offer me ecstacy. Anyways, I hope that you at least learn one thing from The Polyamorous Affair, and that is "whoever controls the groove controls the world." -Alvin
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