Kevin Bronson on March 16th, 2013

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[Occasional Buzz Bands LA contributor and Moheak Radio DJ Mo Herms checks in with this report from a set we couldn’t make because of schedule conflicts …]

“I’ll give you a drink ticket if you can answer this trivia question. What is the original color of Ginger Spice’s hair?” And so began the Chelsea Light Moving showcase at SXSW on Friday night, as Thurston Moore attempted to entertain the crowd during a sound check delay. While the drummer was working out his issues, Moore continued with the commentary: “I got to meet Eric Burdon today. What a sweet, sweet man …” Once everything was good to go, the band took off with “Burroughs” from their self-titled album, and the crowd, already charmed despite the delay, was officially in love. Moore’s talent of finding the melody in the dissonance was on full display, as Chelsea Light Moving has less of that chaos factor which characterized Sonic Youth. A song dedicated to Roky Erikson was pure jangle pop, and most of the music evoked actual dancing rather than anything more aggressive. They occasionally indulged in a loud burst of noise that was never jarring, always perfectly placed, just like a little bit of sour to take away a touch of the sweet in a finely tuned dessert.

– Mo Herms