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Shy Child, the Gossip Bring Refined Spazz to NYC

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“We’re feeling loose!” Shy Child’s Pete Cafarella shouted happily before the sixth tune of the duo’s eight-song set at Manhattan’s Webster Hall last night (April 15). Loose is right. Where the recordings of the synth/dance-pop act display an electronic tightness, their live performance felt tuned-in and rhythmic, but not quite locked.

But Cafarella had a reason to not mind. After the over 100 performances of their eight-month stint in the UK — where, according to him, “the kids just go out of their minds” — the keytar-and-drum duo know how to bring the energy, and they do it with a rare ease. It only took two tracks for the crowd, most of who came for Gossip, to begin cheering every time drummer Nate Smith pointed his left stick at the sky, as if calling down lightning. Cafarella’s keytar (programmed to control four synths) produced a remarkable range of sound, more like an entire electro band than the product of a three-foot ’80s kitsch item. But the size of the instrument gave the singer room to — like Smith — pull out some crowd-pleasing stadium moves, fingers tantalizing the crowd as they paused aloft, then swept down to renew the chest-punching bass rhythm.

Despite being Shy Child’s first hometown show in over a year, you wouldn’t know it from their style. Their exultant, Beverly-Hills-Cop-gone-mathrock keys fit right between the Rapture’s chic bass and Japanther’s raw, sweat-soaked frenzy. The saxophonist in tweed jacket who emerged to jam on “Drop the Phone” and closing track “Summer” (the extended breakdown version) only confirmed that these guys are back where they belong.

But even the excitement produced by the prodigal duo could not compare to the overpowering elation Gossip provoked with their emergence, as emcee Murray Hill proclaimed, “These kids are the face of the future!”

The crowd’s pure devotion to yellow-clad singer Beth Ditto turned the floor into a trampoline, bowing at each beat of the energetic set. By the end, even the offstage spectators lost control and began dancing across the stage, to the crowd’s delight. It was that sight so rare at Manhattan shows: kids just going out of their minds. No standing in the way of control required.

We asked: In spite of their name, Shy Child don’t seem particularly shy. Were you shy as a child?

Shy Child / Photo by Eric Nowels

Shy Child / Photo by Eric Nowels

Shy Child / Photo by Eric Nowels

Shy Child / Photo by Eric Nowels

The Gossip / Photo by Eric Nowels

The Gossip / Photo by Eric Nowels

The Gossip / Photo by Eric Nowels