Seeing any band in an unconventional setting is sure to be memorable — there’s a reason so many music fans are quick to talk about that one time they saw such-and-such in so-and-so’s basement. So right off the bat, getting to see San Fermin in the close confines of Bright Red Studios was going to be a special experience.
The Brooklyn, N.Y., octet is most often described as “baroque pop,” but that’s only accurate up to a point. Sure, they have a lot of the same grand, orchestral instrumentation as many baroque artists, but there’s a lot separating them from, say, Sufjan Stevens. Co-lead vocalists Allen Tate and Charlene Kaye lend sultriness to the band, and it’s never more evident than in their call-and-response duet “Parasites,” in which Kaye sings a lyric that could make even R. Kelly blush (“These lips will suck you black and blue”).
Instrumentally, their combination of shimmering keys and violins mixed with a funky trumpet-and-sax combo results in what sounds like slow jams being played very, very loudly and chaotically. The night’s highlight was their set-closing cover of Weezer’s 1994 hit “Buddy Holly,” which filtered Rivers Cuomo’s vocals through Tate’s baritone and repurposed the song’s whining guitar solo through a whirlwind of violin, saxophone, trumpet and guitar.
Regardless of venue, San Fermin is a band that commands the stage (which is what they were in town to do the following night, July 31, as part of the Majestic Theatre's Live on King Street series). But at Bright Red Studios, they turned an intimate setting into funky, wall-to-wall raucousness.
Isthmus Live Sessions is presented by MINI of Madison and Ian’s Pizza. Produced by Isthmus, the “Parasites” video was directed and edited by Justin Sprecher, with additional camerawork by James Kraus. The complete 14-song, 55-minute audio set is available for listening below.
Paul Krugman featured this session in his New York Times blog.