Bowery Ballroom
New York City
Words by Abbey Braden
Photos by Durado Brooks

The year? 1986. The debate? Which movie soundtrack was more awesome:
1) Top Gun (Kenny Loggins + F14s = RAD) or
2) the Talking Head’s True Stories (a freaky romp through the Americana soundscape starring Spaulding Gray and spinning lobsters = AMAZING) .

My older brother- being a stickler- said I could only choose one. There was no middle ground in the land of music snobbery. How can you stack Kenny Loggins against ‘Wild Wild Life’ ? It just wasn’t fair, and I dreamed of the day where ‘Danger Zone’ and David Byrne could live in peace. Flash forward 20 years at SXSW: I’m standing in a crowd of music industry execs that lo and behold, have been won over by a band. A crew of red-uniformed men are scaling amps, arms flailing, knocking sh*t over and singing along to ‘I’ve Had the Time of My Life’ to close their set. I’m shocked. Apalled. And I totally join in. The day had come. True Stories, Top Gun and Dirty Dancing could live in harmony in the form of a band pimping jogging suits.

Now, for those that don’t know, Datarock is from a city in Norway called Bergen, which is pretty much their version of Seattle. In fact, that’s their sister city. The town is tucked in between 7 mountains and there is a TON of music that comes out of there: everyone from Ungdomskulen, Erland Øye and Kings of Convenience, Röyksopp, and Sondre Lerche. There really must be something in the water. You know who else is from there? Annie. Datarock- the core guys being Fredrik Saroea and Ketil Mosnes- played their first gig at her infamous Pop Til You Drop party. The duo then added friends to their live set and the rest is history.

What better way to kick off their live show at Bowery than by a tip of the cap to Norweigian Death Metal: a heavy shredded version of their song ‘Maybelline’ started the party. Then crowd was pumped enough to raise their hands in the air and clap for ‘Night Flight to Uranus,’ and their sax player dove into the teeming mass during ‘I Used to Dance With My Daddy’ much to everyone’s delight. And by everyone I mean the unsteady chick that kept mashing her heel onto the top of left foot. You know what? It was worth the bloody toe, because everyone was having fun. Beats getting kicked in the head by a crowdsurfer, without as many bragging rights.

Their drummer (the consummate flirt of the band) took over as emcee and hopped in the crowd too. The audience went bananas during the opening chords of our fave Grease tribute ‘Computer Camp Love’ and proceeded to sing along for the entire song. One of the best parts about Datarock is A) how genuine their enthusiasm is for performing and B) how actively pumped people get participating in the set. Fa Fa Fa wrapped up the show but they did oblige the audience with an encore reveal of a new song. While still mainlining their brand of power pop, it dug a bit deeper with the guitar jam. Final verdict? Can’t effing wait for the new album.

PS- Bergen is totally our new Gothenburg!