Recap and Photo Set: POND @ The Neptune
POND @ The Neptune Theatre
October 16, 2018 in Seattle, Wash.
Words and Photos by Jake Hanson
Aussie psych-rockers POND swept through Seattle following a stellar performance at this year’s Desert Daze festival, recently relocated from the Joshua Tree to a beautiful beachfront location at Lake Perris, just an hour outside of LA.
Though POND describes themselves as “Bruce Springsteen if he was a catfish,” one can’t help but denote hints of David Bowie, Prince and even The Flaming Lips from frontman Nick Allbrook and his counterparts.
Bathed in a sea of blues and deep purples, Allbrook spent the set stylishly strutting about the stage and painting the air with waving arms, his chest exposed and his face and neck covered in glitter. Though it often felt like he was calling out from a nearby space station, Allbrook made a closer connection when he worked his way to the center of the Neptune floor mid-set to belt a few lines from a perched position on the barricade railing.
Backed by an incredible band of instrumentalists, some shared with Kevin Parker’s nearby project, Tame Impala, POND cements the already familiar notion that Perth, Australia is responsible for producing some of the most exciting acts currently creating music. The band’s most recent album, The Weather, is more heavy-handed when it comes to synth-created sounds and often displays a grim concoction of lyrics that describe a certain amount of disgust for our modern society. Lyrics aside, The Weather is filled with tracks that gradually build and leave listeners in awe of grandiose pinnacles, inching closer to POND’s longtime goal of releasing an album that rivals rock’s all-time classics.
Here are some of my favorite shots from the evening. Check out even more photos in the album on our Flickr page. – Editor
