POND at The Regent – Photo: Kirby Gladstein
Psychedelic rockers from Perth, Western Australia, Pond, played a raucous show at The Regent DTLA Tuesday night. The crowd undulated for the entirety of the set; frontman Nick Allbrooks’ distinctive dance moves and banter from the band riled them up continuously. By the end of the show it had been decided, this was the most fun Pond had ever had wrapping up a tour.
Playing an eclectic mix of new and old songs alike – the oldest of the old being “Don’t Look At The Sun Or You’ll Go Blind”, according to Pond – fans of every stage of the band’s career left satisfied. The theatrics were laid on thick, but never felt disingenuous. Allbrook whirled his flute like a baton twirler, then did the same with a microphone stand. At one point he used a toy megaphone to distort his vocals. And don’t even ask me how many times he crowd surfed or took a jaunt through the masses. I stopped counting when I realized it would happen multiple times in more songs than it wouldn’t. These moves that could easily come across as contrived appeared to be more akin to involuntary compulsions produced from the music itself.
POND at The Regent – Photo: Kirby Gladstein
It’s impossible to discuss Pond without mentioning another Australian psychedelic rock act: Tame Impala. The member base of Pond may never be better articulated than it is in this Noisey article, so I’ll quote Tshepo Mokoena; “both bands are linked by a sort of incestuous revolving door of band members.” Vivid. Allow me to elucidate. Allbrook used to play in Tame Impala, and Pond’s drummer, Jay Watson, still does (while also juggling a third psych rock project, GUM). Whats more, current Tame Impala members Kevin Parker, Cam Avery, and Julien Barbagallo are all former members of Pond. Parker still lends himself to Pond, producing their albums. This dizzying kaleidoscope of who is who in what was entirely intentional. The original aim of Pond was a completely collaborative music project with anyone playing anything at any given time. However, much to the disappoint of the multiple concert-goers that asked me if Kevin Parker was in attendance, no such appearance occurred. Don’t worry, they didn’t need him there anyway.
Photography & Words: Kirby Gladstein
POND at The Regent – Photo: Kirby Gladstein
POND at The Regent – Photo: Kirby Gladstein
POND at The Regent – Photo: Kirby Gladstein
