Beauty Pill’s recent three-day residency at Artisphere functioned as a release party for its amazing album Beauty Pill Describes Things As They Are (Butterscotch). But it was also a lot more than that.
The shows were billed as the final installment of Immersive Ideal—an experimental collaboration between the D.C.-based band and the unfortunately soon-to-close arts center in Arlington’s Rosslyn neighborhood. The first installment occurred in July 2011 when the group recorded the LP there in public. (We covered it in issue #81.) The following January, Beauty Pill unveiled a multimedia presentation of the sessions, including surround-sound mixes of the completed songs. After some delays and complications (see issue #113), the album was finally released a few weeks ago.
Oh, and these dates were Beauty Pill’s first shows since 2007. In the intervening time, frontman Chad Clark contacted a heart virus and almost died. Two heart surgeries saved his life.
Most bands would be content to simply play a regular gig following such an eventful recent past. But Beauty Pill—Clark, Basla Andolsun, Drew Doucette, Jean Cook and Devin Ocampo—is not like most groups. When Beauty Pill took over Artisphere’s Black Box Theatre (capacity: 125) for the third time, it made Immersive Ideal more literal than ever. The band stationed itself around the perimeter of the room; each member had his or her own stage and speaker. The audience was encouraged to walk around and observe the band from different angles as it played.
On the final night, the band members exchanged visual cues and knowing glances from across the room to each other. They had adjusted well to the innovative setting. It was almost as if it wasn’t all that different from playing together on one stage.
But at the same time, it was equally clear that they were energized here, especially when playing songs from the new album. Describes Things is a rare and unique work, filled with time-warped samples and loops interacting with dynamic band performances. Clark’s melodies are seductively hooky, and his lyrics are vivid, provocative and often profound.
The band delivered songs from the album like “Ann The Word” and “Afrikaner Barista” with aplomb. Cook (who’s played violin for Pulp, Jon Langford, Jenny Toomey and others) controlled and manipulated many of the samples with a Monome, a handheld, lighted controller. The sounds ping-ponged around the theater, interlocking with the daring rhythms of Andolsun (bass) and Ocampo (drums), and Clark and Doucette’s intertwining guitars. (Vocals are handled by Clark and Cook.) In these moments, Immersive Ideal had all the live conceptual heft and musical glory of Stop Making Sense.
Older songs like “The Idiot Heart,” “The Western Prayer” and, from Clark and Ocampo’s prior band Smart Went Crazy, “Tight Frame Loose Frame” also received revelatory performances. But arguably it was Clark himself who was the biggest revelation. Despite his long hiatus from the stage, he’s still an engaging frontman—dryly witty and indisputably committed to the music. Around his belt was a battery pack that connects to his heart and keeps him healthy and alive.
After the show, Clark expressed a wish to take Immersive Ideal on the road to other arts centers. The band has East Coast and Midwest shows scheduled for May and June. But these are at standard rock clubs. Galleries interested in an innovative, artful band would be wise to take note.
—Michael Pelusi
