by Dylan Garsee
When I first saw that The Blow and EMA were touring together, I was definitely confused. My (frankly vague) knowledge of both bands told me combining them didn’t make any sense. The Blow are a fun electro-pop band from the early Aughts that sound like they’re from the early Aughts while EMA did that song “California” that I think is corny AF but secretly actually love. But seeing them together made perfect sense and was a unique treat.
EMA is the brainchild of Erika M. Anderson and creates dark, almost grunge filled music with monologues and dramatic flair, straddling the line between incredibly personal and self-parodying. Anderson is a towering figure with a sky-high ponytail, starting the show with a spoken word piece that transitioned her first song, a dark abrasive number that had the audience confounded. But as soon as she addressed the audience, asking how everyone was there was a sigh of relief. This wasn’t going to be an hour of dour self flagellating but someone allowing us to see deep within their psyche.
Y’all, I’m sorry but I’ll just go ahead and say that The Blow didn’t work for me. I think I just missed the boat on them. For the remaining people who haven’t written me off yet, I’ll piss y’all off too. Modular synth work is the improv comedy of the music world in that it’s only interesting to the people inside that scene and insufferable outside of it. I understand there’s talent there and I understand there’s a level of difficulty involved. But it’s not for me.
Dylan Garsee is a freelance writer/bingo enthusiast currently living in Austin, TX. He is a writer for Previously.tv and a member of the Loser City collective and used to avoid reading comics while writing for Comics Bulletin. An avid record collector, Dylan can mostly be seen at Waterloo Records, holding that one God Speed You! Black Emperor record he can’t afford, crying. You can follow him on Twitter, where he horrifies celebrities as @garseed.