Music fans who like a taste of alt-pop-psychedelia with an indie twist (Tame Impala, Flaming Lips) might want to jump into Pond. The Australian quintet played at The Regency Ballroom in San Francisco on Tuesday night with opening act Fazerdaze.
The show was initially slated for the nearby Warfield Theatre, but lagging ticket sales for the weeknight holiday season show forced a re-lo. Even so, the audience was significantly larger than the band drew to The New Parish nightclub in Oakland just a few months ago. A diverse cast of Millennials, Gen Z'ers, and a handful of Gen X/Baby Boomers no doubt discovered Pond through their Tame Impala roots – several members of Pond have toured and recorded with that ensemble. Others may have stumbled upon them via random Spotify or YouTube airplay or got turned on by their uber-cool friends. Regardless of how they found their way, the fans have come to appreciate Pond’s songcraft, and word of their energetic, exciting stage show has spread.
Pond delivers a powerful punch on stage with their sonic and melodic songs. Their music is edgy enough to be distinctive but doesn’t veer too far from avenues trodden by Oasis, Muse, and Todd Rundgren. The sound is lush, proggy, and full of bravado. Check out the single "(I'm) Stung" from their latest album, for instance, and tell me it doesn’t remind you of Utopia.
The not-so-secret weapon when Pond hits the stage is singer Nick Allbrook. While his voice is interesting and dynamic on record, he’s an entertaining sight to behold on stage. Sure, the guy can sing – but he commands attention with his well-honed rock star strutting and posing. Allbrook has studied the James Brown Book of Stagecraft for sure. He also frequently forays into the audience, leaping over the photo pit to interact directly and physically with the audience. He sings a line or two directly to everyone in the front row, and he’ll touch everyone within seven or eight feet of the rail by the end of the show.
The dude even crowd-surfs. After one circuit through the crowd back in May at New Parish, he thanked his literal supporters, “I put my skull in your hands, and you never fail. I’ve never once had my skull cracked open.”
A classic San Francisco liquid light performance by Lance Gordon’s Mad Alchemy during Pond’s set meshed well with the band’s neo-psychedelic sonic performance. Bubbles of electric light grooved and throbbed behind the band, also illuminating the walls and ceilings of the Beaux-Arts ballroom.
In addition to Allbrook (who plays flute and occasional guitar, in addition to being constantly in motion on or off the stage), Pond features guitarist "Shiny" Joe Ryan, Jay "GUM" Watson (drums, vocals, bass, guitar, keys), and Jamie Terry (keys, bass). The fifth member of the quintet at The Regency was Pond’s longtime guitar tech (apologies, I didn’t catch his name), who is filling in on drums at present for James "Gin" Ireland. Introducing the band, Allbrook mentioned something about Ireland taking time off to play for the Australian national cricket team, if I heard correctly. For roughly half the show, only the core four Pond’ers were on stage, with Watson switching back and forth between drums, keys, and guitars.
Given the personnel shakeup, Pond played a different set than the one I saw in May. Allbrook explained that the set was “all cobbled together. We’re playing songs from the back catalog.” For an encore, Pond followed their (relatively speaking) oldie “Fantastic Explosion of Time” from 2012 with the more recent (2019) “Don’t Look at the Sun or You’ll Go Blind.” Once again leaning over the rail to meld with the audience to shake hands and bump fists, Allbrook added several lines of the refrain from Mystikal’s “Shake Ya Ass.” The fans were glad to oblige with such shaking.
New Zealand’s Fazerdaze opened with a tight 30-minute set of tunes that switch-backed between ethereal dreaminess, drum machine beats, and riot grrrl guitar riffs. Along with a musical accompanist, Amelia Rahayu Murray (she is, essentially, Fazerdaze) shoe-gazed her way through a handful of songs that hinted at her songwriting prowess. Her opening song, “Break!,” was giving Sleater-Kinney guitar and showcased Murray’s indie-cool lyrics:
If in doubt pray to God
It’s a shame no one’s listening
POND SETLIST
Daisy
(I’m) Stung
Neon River
Sweep Me Off My Feet
So Lo
Fire in the Water
Black Lung
Human Touch
Aloneaflameaflower
Paint Me Silver
Giant Tortoise / Torn Asunder
Toast
Encore:
Fantastic Explosion of Time
Don’t Look at the Sun or You’ll Go Blind
(with “Shake Ya Ass” by Mystikal tease)
