The theme of the Ricky Eat Acid and Jessy Lanza show at Black Cat was: I’ll take 2! Ricky Eat Acid, the opener, was an adorable duo (2!) of hipsters, although the permanent front man is one Sam Ray from (holler!) Maryland. Sam and his bandmate collaborated to offer the early Black Cat crowd a soothing yet edgy exploration of sound that was, to use an irritatingly abstract word, idealistic. This was the kind of music I don’t usually listen to – it would never make it on my Spotify playlist of my own choosing. However, being in the dark backstage room of Black Cat, finally dry of the DC rain, it was the perfect soundtrack to the night. I couldn’t have kept my eyes open if I wanted to – and, when I did manage to take a peek around the room, most others were also head-bobbing, eye-closing, and just totally enjoying themselves. My favorite song they played was “I can hear the heart breaking as one.” Super mellow. Super uplifting.
Jessy took the stage at 9:30… in a hoodie that simply read: No Fun. I’ll take 2! This girl must be my rock star alter ego. She took the stage with little fanfare and just proceeded to dominate. It’s impresive to see a solo artist orchestrate a keypad, computer, and vocals all at once… and Jessy did just that. The girl dominated the bass and the vocals. When she first took the stage, I immediately began comparing her to Gold Panda and Girltalk, but her vocals absolutely set her apart. She has a great voice and a great touch incorporating those vocals into her beat. Put together, the entire package is super pleasing, energetic, and personable. I’d recommend the snazzily named 5785021 track.
Both bands provide great sounds if you’re looking for a synthesizer-filled, bass-heavy, quality-vocals mix.