Darwin Deez @ The Zoo

Ahh Darwin Deez. How your quirky mannerisms and your random, yet somehow perfectly choreographed dance intervals can be so entertaining is beyond me.

Oh right, he plays music aswell. And yeah, he's pretty good at that too.

For starters, they aren't exactly your usual run of the mill performers. Sure, their simplistic, guitar orientated pop sound is nothing innovative, but they do well to break this up with little dance numbers in between songs - somehow making moves that the weird kid at your high school dance would bust out, seem kinda cool. Throw in a completely random rap, that I can't figure out to be ironic or just plain enjoyable, and Darwin Deez show that they are willing to put in that extra effort for their audience and most of all prove that they are just a fun band, and not pretentious fuckwits.

For those who haven't heard a DD song, in short, they essentially sound just like The Strokes, but played at half-speed and without any standout musical prowess, which is saying something (he only has four strings on his guitar for christ's sake!). But while some could see this as lazy, I prefer more chilled out if anything. This is pretty evident in the crowd, who are as about as aggressive as a box of kittens. I'm fine with this though, considering my last visit to the Zoo was a sweat-induced, washing machine of a moshpit also known as a Wavves audience.
Yet some of the more faster and upbeat tracks like 'Radar Detector' and 'Constellations' get the crowd moving pretty well, while other more familiar tracks like 'DNA' and 'Up in the Clouds' also inject a bit of life.

I still don't know what to make of the lyrics though.

I just can't figure whether to laugh or cringe at some of the standout one liners. The very image of Darwin Deez ripping out the last page of someone's 800 page novel and then throwing away the keys to their apartment is nothing short of hilarious (take that you asshole!). But others like "twinkle twinkle little star" (where have i heard that before....) and "dizzy from lack of oxygen or from the mood you put me in" makes me question whether it was Darwin Deez or a 5 year old who writes their lyrics. Nevertheless, for what the songs are, it's hard not to enjoy them as they are so simple and memorable that the crowd knows the words to most of just about every song and who isn't a sucker for crowd involvement.

So despite the slightly steep price of $40 for a band with only one album and a handful of quality songs, Darwin Deez more than make up for it with a surprisingly lively performance with enough initiative and cojones to give the crowd just a little bit more than they were expecting.

 7/10