Mi Ami, Terrible Twos and Skate Laws

Mar 25 2011 in Buzz, Review by Tim Adkins (admin)

By Bruno Postigo

Most of the time, I’m usually not caught off guard when it comes to live shows. However, Mi Ami took me by surprise, and they didn’t let me down. The show at the Yellow Barn in Ann Arbor featured Mi Ami, Terrible Twos, Skate Laws, and two DJ’s Relaxer and Forest Juziuk.
For those unfamiliar with Mi Ami, they’re a band from San Francisco. The current lineup features only two members (Daniel Martin-McCormick and Damon Palermo) after their bassist decided to leave the band. It was at this time they decided to drop the analog instruments and go electronic. The band uses a drum machine, keyboards, and effect pedals to drive their music forward.
Describing their music is a hard task, since their sound is so unique and consists of Martin-McCormick’s voice cutting through layers and layers of drum and synth sounds. His delivery was impressive, and, as connection and emotion infused his words, the audience could not help but dance along.  Palermo is a crucial element; he stays in the back, concentrated  on ensuring that the music is tight and pulsating, while Martin-McCormick improvises on his keyboard.
To me this is one of those bands that you have to experience live, as any good punk band. There is just no way that you will get the same experience from just listening to their recording. Classifying this band is also a challenging task; to me they’re straight punk. The music is very raw and direct, but the synths and the electronic drums could also classify them as electro.

Mi Ami’s standout performance was complimented well by that of Skate Laws and Terrible Twos. Skate Laws, in many ways, seems to be Lydia Lunch meets the Stooges. (I recommend that you watch iSPY’s YouTube footage from the show to understand his performance.) Forest Juziuk is a man with a great vision, and one of Ann Arbor’s driving forces. He was also spinning throughout the event, alongside DJ Relaxer.

Detroit-based Terrible Twos delivered a fascinating performance, since I sincerely thought that the hardcore punk scene was dead. The inclusion of a keyboard player makes their music unique synth-punk come alive. Although the synths could not be heard as well as I hoped, the Terrible Twos overall delivered a really tight set.

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