This coming Monday, August 8th, NYC’s Bodega take to the stage at Holocene. DJ Womble of Real Soon in Rose City reviews their L.A. date in anticipation.
Listen to Bodega on Spotify // Find Bodega on Bandcamp // Follow Bodega on Instagram // Book tickets to Bodega’s Holocene show on 8.8
Last night New York’s very finest, Bodega,took to the stage at in the cavernous Echo Theater in Los Angeles in support of their second full-length album, Broken Equipment. Continuing from 2018’s Endless Scroll and the 2019 EP Shiny New Model, Broken Equipment is another fine showcase and refinement of the band’s thumping percussion, choppy guitars, and sing-along choruses. Songs such as ‘Statuette on the Console’, with the frantic, bursting guitars, exemplify a band that are increasingly confident in their sound and style.
‘Statuette on the Console’ was released in seven different language on an EP of the same name early this year
Taking to the stage in outfits that align with the bands grey-and-teal color scheme, guitarist and singer Ben Hozie looked around the crowd and said “I’m gonna need you all to come a lot closer, it’s gonna be much more fun that way”. As the crowd drew in and the sampled phrase “this is new Bodega song” rang out, Nikki Belfiglio, the band’s other singer, struck an angular pose before launching into ‘Truth is Not Punishment’. As the band worked through an often-frantic set filled with wave upon wave of noise, dedications were thrown out and sometimes duplicated, with band members recognizing audience members who had been at previous LA shows. Hozie’s swagger and Belfiglio’s style combined make for a frontman/frontwoman team that ooze cool, with Belfiglio in particular able to get the crowd dancing. In between performing ‘NYC (disambiguation)’ and ‘Doers’ from Broken Equipment, Hozie explained the two tracks form a duology about New York’s past and present. Indeed, from the color-coordinated outfits, to the art-school music videos, to the periodic, good-natured digs at L.A., to their very name itself, Bodega are perhaps the epitome of a New York band – yet they consistently engage in thoughtful critique of the city and what it represents. Previous releases had already established the band as strong lyrically, and this continues in the new album with tracks such as these.
NYC ‘Disambiguation’ offers a critical engagement with NYC’s origins and history in a snappy, three-minute indie-rock track
Sadly, a fast-paced set in which most of the band’s material to date was played was forced to end without the improvisation Bodega love due to a broken bass string, yet nobody was left feeling short-changed. Nikki Belfiglio ran the merch table after the show and a long line immediately formed. It’s perhaps an indication of the sense among the crowd that there will not be chances to see this band in small, intimate settings and to talk to them after the show for much longer.
Tickets for Bodega’s Holocene show can be bought here.
