Keep a Watchful Eye On Viet Cong

Outdoor shows have long been a tradition of the summer months, especially in urban cityscapes where these free bread and circuses are used to distract the oppressed from the oppressive seasonal conditions so they continue to do the right thing. Based on the magnitude of the occasion (holiday, benefit, etc.), the bands involved vary in popularity and location. The Village Voice sponsored 4Knots Music Festival at the South Street Seaport in lower Manhattan is more like croutons and clowns compared to it’s previous incarnation as the Coney Island based Siren Festival back when people read newspapers and toxic mortgages were still dream homes. Yet, 4Knots remains a destination for fans of the announced bands and anyone interested in free entertainment/just passing by that day.

The third band to play on 4Knots main stage, Viet Cong, initially seemed like any of the other bands who get talked into playing these mid-day outings in the bright, skin-crisping, sun-baked, jungle-like humid summer air. They hit the stage with shaded and/or squinting eyes in sweat soaked black clothes looking like pasty white shut-ins that even John Watson could determine were still reeling from the night before. That being said, Viet Cong handled their 3:30 PM time slot very well. The South Street Seaport currently under renovating construction detoured bands onto a tucked away stage at the end of a long pier that found attendees passing under elevated highways, cutting through bike paths and entering into close quarters with the usual Saturday pier crowd and the many boothed sponsors of the festival touting their goods. All this topped off with the many sailing and motored boats clogging the East River directly behind the stage.

“Hello Ship!” said Matt Flegel the bassist and vocalist of this Calgary, Alberta, Canada based four piece which drew awkward smiles from his band mates drummer, Mike Wallace, and guitarists/keyboardists Scott Munroe and Daniel Christiansen. His greetings aimed at the classic Tall Ship "Peking"found stage left bobbing in the questionable waters of the East River filled with 4Knots VIPs who were all huddled to the stage side of the boat, looking down from their lofty perches with drinks in hand. After a bit more observational banter from the stage, it started to become obvious that Mr. Flegel was passively asking for a beer. Before kicking into the next song of their half hour set, he mumbled something about the lack of beverages backstage. As Viet Cong are barely out of the phase of discussing their band history in terms of months instead of years, the festival shortened half hour set may have been the perfect length. Their only known material so far is just a tour cassette EP and the promise of a full length by the end of the calendar year. In the interim, Brooklyn based label Mexican Summer has stepped in and just re-released their tour cassette as a limited twelve-inch vinyl aptly titled Cassette. A seven song collection that attempts to define the aesthetic of the band- dark, synth edged, eighties leaning (except when it’s not) rock mixed with post/math-rock, pop, indie, and garage- with a Bauhaus cover (Dark Entries) thrown in for good measure. Strangely with all this varied influence, a unique and unified sound remains in your memory after repeated spins of Cassette - even with its forays into instrumental passages, repetitive krautrock-like tangents, occasional syrupy vocal harmonies, synth heavy moments, dueling guitars heroics and classic verse chorus verse arrangements.

As is the case with any mention of the band Viet Cong, it must be referenced that this band rose out of the ashes of another four piece out of Calgary called Women. An amazing band that gave the world two stellar albums- Women (2008) and Public Strain (2010) before going on hiatus after internal issues insisted (culminating in a brother vs brother brawl on stage) and ceasing to be after the tragic death of  guitarist Christopher Reimer in 2012. Viet Cong consists of Women’s rhythm section, Mr. Wallace and Mr. Flegel. The latter also happens to be one half of the previously mentioned pugilistic brothers (who are now on good terms). A bass and drum combo that have played together since they were kids who now possess an instinctual shorthand which is the backbone of Viet Cong. After the demise of Women, it appears most of the band retreated into the world of Chad VanGaalen, the producer of Women’s two records and a Calgary based solo artist in his own right signed to Sub Pop records. Mr. VanGaalen is widely known to have been inspired by his experience recording with Women and his subsequent solo albums bear the mark of that influence. So much so, members of Women are said to have played on the albums in question and even became part of his touring band. It was this connection that brought both guitarists Scott Munroe and Daniel Christiansen into the VC fold. From that introduction, practices turned into 4 track recordings that turned into a short tour that lead to being signed that resulted in playing outdoor festivals like the 4Knots Music Festival.

While it would be untrue to say the presence of Women is not felt in these recordings, it must be reinforced that Viet Cong is an entirely different band. The added dimensions brought by Mr. Munroe and Mr. Christiansen’s contributions cannot be skipped over. That is exactly what makes Viet Cong so engaging, being both familiar and foreign at the same time. A combination that creates a wholly new sound that is a natural extension of the lineage involved journeying into vastly new and unexplored territory. Excitingly, there is always the chance of a random guitar part, vocal inflection or drum beat on this new sonic palette that will still tap into distant memories that permanently reside in a warm, nostalgic place.

On that sun beaten Manhattan stage, this still soft spotted band blew through their thirty minute set with smiles on their faces. Bright, shimmering guitars lines escaped from their guitars as pulsated and rolled rhythms found their place in intricate bass and drum parts. Mr. Munroe at times simultaneously wielding a guitar and manning the keyboards; pulling off both with a natural dexterity that made it look easy. Weathered but radio friendly vocals courtesy of Mr. Fegel coming in at just the right moments and disappearing back into the ether at his command. The whole time showing a confidence and stage presence of a tenured frontman along with his drumming counterpart whose skater flipped and chemical dipped white hair oddly almost never moved given the amount of energy he released with each snare hit. On stage left, Mr. Christiansen was lost in his work and was sweating so profusely that it was a given the “cigarette” he kept tucked behind his ear the entire set was a goner. Their combined efforts resulting in each song sounding better than the one before it as they realized their moment, winning over the crowd in the process. Finishing their last song to a roaring crowd that had grown in size over the course of their time on stage, their unencumbered sound waves had brought in new listeners like a siren song. In an almost movie script ending, the crowd (not the VIP section) threw a can of beer up to Mr. Flegel after the last song- an outward sign of earned respect if there ever was one.

Viet Cong’s newly re-released Cassette EP may suffer from spotty production and its “a little bit of everything” approach to song structure but it should be noted this is just a glimpse of a band that recorded this material months ago after only being a band for months. Though listened to very frequently over these past couple weeks, Cassette in no way matches the power and comfort they displayed on stage under the high summer sun. Out of sorts, thirsty for drink and sweaty from the great outdoors, they still won over their pier that day. Proving to all that could hear that the upside to this band is ridiculous with the prospect of a new full length one of the most anticipated musical highlights of the second half of 2014. They have already set the bar high (like the one on that VIP Tall Ship) and they have the pedigree, the talent and the songs to continue their upward climb. Consider yourself recommended to see this band in a proper club at a proper nighttime hour the next time they come to your town.