Wajatta, French Vanilla get the mammals dancing at opener of First Fridays at Natural History Museum

0
Wajatta at First Fridays at the Natural History Museum (Photo by S.Lo)

Music and science merged at this past weekend’s launch of First Fridays at the Natural History Museum. The first of four dates this year, it was perfect timing that the theme of the night was the Future of Medicine.

Passing under a life-sized T-Rex making friends with a triceratops (as skeletons), the insistent EDM spun by DJ Josh Peace pulled party-goers into the North African Mammal Hall (the taxidermied elephant room) to get dancing with alcohol elixirs from the bar. Meanwhile, in the upstairs North American Mammal Hall (the taxidermied walrus room), the seats were packed with standing room overflow to take in the discussion ranging from the history of the flu to modern genome sequencing, moderated by author and L.A. Times journalist Pat Morrison with UC San Diego Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biology Dr. Alexis Komor and Brown University research fellow/Tel Aviv University Futures Studies researcher Dr. Roey Tzezana. The heady discussion stirred lively conversation afterwards about the psychological panic gripping communities and behavioral emptying of store shelves of hygienic essentials. It was time for another sanitizing drink for sanity.

Hearing the saxophone bop of French Vanilla wafting through the halls meant it was time to pogo to some no-wave in the downstairs North American Mammal Hall (the taxidermied buffalo room). Clad in black leather and mesh, frontwoman Sally Spitz whipped the crowd into post-punk lockstep head-bopping to the band with their recent singles “Real or Not,” “Lost Power” and “All the Time.” Daniel Trautfield weaved passionate melodies from his saxophone and switched off with Ali Day to rock on bass for a few songs. They kept the pace at a giddy bounce, solidly held together by drummer Greg Shilton, with this being his last performance with the band. They gave it their all, sweating it out with the crowd.

With bodies warm and spirits jovial, it was a great moment to take in some exhibits from the museum’s Mayan/Aztec vault, collections of crystals and the histories of California as well as horror films. Erswhile, back in the African Mammal Hall (the taxidermied elephant room), resident DJ Novena Carmel led a full crowd dancing to some great oldies (Paula Abdul, heyyy!). She read the room right with its mostly 30s-plus crowd.

Soon trance competed across the hall and with that, the excitement that headliners Wajatta were on. A new project by Reggie Watts and John Tejada (see “Don’t Let Get You Down” and stream their new album), the ground level North American Mammal Hall was packed to the gills with bodies swaying and hands waving in ecstasy in the air. Watts flowed in fluid, soulful vocal melodies while Tejada masterfully mixed beats and harmonies on various tune controllers. Deeper into the set, Watts emerged from behind the table and worked the crowd with funky dance moves and Tejada morphed his voice into various pitch shifts live. Technology is a great wonder, especially in the hands of those who know how to push it to its limits.

Molly Lewis, aka Café Molly, started the night off.

The next First Fridays is April 3, with Jessy Lanza headlining, and tickets are now on sale.