A Spellbinding Night at Outset with Chanel Beads
Article by Melody Kpahn / Photo by Moni Haworth
A black-and-white video of a woman meandering around Coney Island lights up the faces in the crowd at the Outset. The scene seems ripped straight from a Chantal Akerman film. Loud, droning synths, occasionally interrupted by sharp drums, lull the crowd into a trance. Anastasia Coope, the first opener for Chanel Beads on Friday Night, performed her experimental songs with finesse. In a silk dress and two pinned-up braids, Coope circled the stage, chanting the lyrics to her songs and thanking the audience at the end of each one.
The second opener, duo Horse Vision, played guitar-forward tracks reminiscent of Oklou. The band consists of Johan Nilsson and Gabriel von Essen and hails from Stockholm, Sweden. Several of their songs interpolate pop hits, with one song sampling “All the Things She Said” by Russian duo t.A.T.u. The largely instrumental set ebbed and flowed, culminating in a crashing rendition of last year’s single “Back Of My Hand”, which uses a slowed version of Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” as the backing track.
At 10 PM, the lights dimmed one final time to welcome Shane Lavers, Maya McGrory (who also performs as Colle), Hugo Stanley, and Zachary Paul to the stage. While Chanel Beads is Lavers’ solo project, violinist Paul and guitarist/vocalist McGrory are close and frequent collaborators. Their set began with an ambient mishmash of sounds- spoken word samples, McGrory and Paul strumming their instruments, Stanley’s break beats, and Lavers playing an electric wind synthesizer. They continued to play a mix of songs from their first and second albums, both titled Your Day Will Come. Lavers jumped and paced around the stage, returning to the mic just in time to harmonize with McGrory; his gruff voice starkly contrasted with her airy one.
For “Idea June”, a track off their debut album, McGrory gave her guitar to Lavers and sang solo. “I heard that you’re bad now, I think I’m glued to your back now,” she sang while Lavers strummed, facing away from the crowd. The audience moved rhythmically to “Tyler Richards”, the final song of the set. The track built to a crescendo, drums banging and synth screaming, before settling into an electrifying silence.
The crowd was buzzing as they exited the venue. Many were unsure of what they had just experienced. The strangeness of the openers paired with Chanel Beads’ familiar experimentation made for a peculiar but stirring night at the Outset.
The trio will continue their tour in Denver, ending in November in the U.K. You can stream Your Day Will Come here.