Drumming, Chanting at the Warhol Museum

Several years ago, packed in a tiny, Central Phoenix music venue, I stood entranced by the drumming and chanting and noodling and jamming of the Akron/Family. I was pretty excited when I found out they were coming to Pittsburgh. In the much more sterile environment of the theater at the Andy Warhol Museum, the Akron/Family seemed to have a little more trouble drumming up audience participation, at least for the first half of the show. Perhaps they were distracted by the giant newborn baby, resting upstairs, glistening with afterbirth. But everybody was into it by the end, and I came away equally excited by the discovery of Megafaun, who played along with them. I do have to say that the sound in the Warhol theater is excellent, but I am not a fan of the seats, especially for shows that start so much earlier than my bedtime. (When I go to something like, say, my brother's band that won't even start playing until midnight, I have to sit down while enjoying the music.) But the opening band went on precisely at 8, and the entire show was over before 11, stopped rather unnaturally by museum staff who turned on the lights before there was even an encore. Oh well, the show still rocked, and I definitely plan to see these guys again.