Last Week: Cut Copy Loves the Lights

The Australian electronic pop band gives the people what they want.

Last week, I previewed Cut Copy’s show at the Joy Theater for The New Orleans Advocate. In it, I talked with bassist Ben Browning about acid house in Australia, The Avalanches, the World Cup, and learning to play in an electronic band. We also talked briefly about a pet fascination: light shows. I’ve wondered if they take the pressure to be visual off of DJs and musicians who aren’t animated when performing, or if it was an obligation, something that was expected that distracted concertgoers from the musicians themselves.

That part of the conversation seemed stray in the Advocate piece, but when I saw Steven Hatley’s photos from the show, it seemed on point. The lights often obscured the human element of the band, or put it in an uneasy relationship with electronic components. Browning and I didn’t get time to explore the question, but he addressed it in the final minutes of our interview: 

It’s something we’re interested in, and we’re not just doing it for the sake of it. It inspires us to perform better and creates a better experience. People go to see bands; they don’t just go to listen to them. We’re interested in visual culture and film, so it naturally translates to us putting together a show. The show we’re doing now is our most realized version of what we’ve always been angling to do and haven’t been able to accomplish. 

Click on photos for a viewer.

Opening act Classixx had its own light show of sorts.