Live: At the Stars and Panda Force at Duke Coffeehouse, 12/5/08

Yesterday night I headed over to the Coffeehouse (for my first show of the semester there, no less) expecting a pleasant evening of Duke-bred music. What I got was a bean bag chair, and a great show from both parties.

At the Stars (listen to highlights "Forget" or "Care" first) are four guys from Richmond, VA, who contacted Panda Force over Myspace about the possibility of trading a couple of shows. The Pandas agreed, and in the past they headed up for a show in Richmond. Last night was At the Stars returning the favor, and they performed an engaging set that put the Coffeehouse's soundsystem to the test. Both guitarists, Stephan LaJaunie on lead and Jonathan Burkhart on rhythm, constructed some solid walls of noise, and LaJaunie's harmonics stood out from the otherwise cohesive instrumentation. Vocalist Burkhart attempted to channel an Americanized version of Thom Yorke circa The Bends, and the whole band had a definite 90s vibe going (although they have modern cohorts in the likes of Editors, Interpol, the Killers and other followers of the Smiths and the Cure).

Any readers in Greensboro should check out the band tonight at the Flatiron, and hopefully they'll be back down in this area soon. Jonathan let me know that the band is in the running for an opening spot with Kings of Leon, so best of luck to him and the other three members (who slept on couches in my common room last night; that's a authentic rock and roll move right there), who are great guys all around.

Panda Force followed up the opener and performed admirably, putting on the same great show that I've grown used to over the last year and a half (full disclosure: I'm friends with the drummer. But seriously, they're awesome anyway). The audience was treated to some "Experimental music, right here in the Coffeehouse," as lead singer Aidan Stallworth put it, when he took over the drums and Navid Nafissi moved to the bass. Aidan held up the vocals and threw in some enthusiastic soloing between the verses as Navid and guitarist David Muñoz handled the necked instruments. While the rhythm section got a little loose, the enthusiasm and enjoyment the guys obviously displayed more than made up for any deviaton from their typically tight sound.

And one cannot disregard the appearance from "One, Two, Three, Dance," the hip-hop group-within-a-group featuring Aidan on beats and Navid spitting rhymes. Futuristic, indeed. These guys put on a fun, accessible show without fail, and if you're a member of the Duke community that hasn't managed to make it out to see Panda Force, you're doing yourself a serious disservice.