[Editor's note: This video previews two UUVVWWZ concerts this weekend. The first is Friday at Slowdown with Icky Blossoms, Life is Cool and Pleasure Adapter, starting at 9 p.m. for $7. The second is Saturday at Duffy's Tavern before the band continues on to Austin's South by Southwest festival. The Duffy's show starts at 8 p.m. and also features Icky Blossoms and Vickers]
words by Shannon Claire | video by Robby DeFrain and Shannon Claire
What do a freelance photographer and a freelance videographer with a Nebraskan connection do to pass the time in Los Angeles? Hang out. A lot.
It also doesn't hurt that somehow amongst the 4 million or so people and 500 or so square miles that make up this crazy city, we ended up living only four blocks from eachother. With the news that our friends UUVVWWZ were to soon be in town, we put on our creative caps and started "stormin'."
We were eager to use some of the skills and creative ideas we have developed recently to create something new and exciting for one of our favorite Nebraska bands. To execute a live music video, for us, we wanted to come up with something a little different then the norm. Something that kept the viewer waiting almost anxiously for what's to come next.
That's actually the feeling I tend to get at a UUVVWWZ show, I'm almost giddy with aniticipation and left wanting more. As for the video, we didn't have a big timed layout or extensive thought process going in, just a general concept. Robby had one camera and I had the other. That's what was thrilling about it: What was to be captured and how it would go together was solely based upon what we individually felt and gravitated towards at the same moments through the band's performance.
During a UU show, I feel like I'm on some sort of amusement park ride. Not strapped in and secure, but the feeling most get when you hit that one part of the loop or drop, where you get airborne for just a brief second. That euphoric fright that makes you almost combust with happiness and keeps you spinning.
Watch the ride here as the band performs "Open Sign" from their second album, the trusted language. Also watch UUVVWWZ play "Hum Jam," the final track from the Lincoln band's first album, and see the band live twice this weekend. The first show is in Omaha on Friday at Slowdown with Icky Blossoms, Life is Cool and Pleasure Adapter. The second is in Lincoln on Saturday at Duffy's Tavern for a SXSW sendoff concert with Icky Blossoms and Vickers.
UUVVWWZ – Open Sign (live) from Robby DeFrain on Vimeo.
credits:
Robby DeFrain: Director of photography, camera operator, editor
Shannon Claire: Camera operator, assistant editor
* performed live at The Central SAPC in Santa Monica, Calif.
Shannon Claire is a HN contributor and wants to give a huge shoutout and muchas gracias to The Central for hooking up HN with show coverage. If you're touring through the Los Angeles area, you should book a show there, just sayin'. Reach Shannon at shannonc@hearnebraska.org.