El Ten Eleven stopped at The Spanish Moon on Sunday as part of their spring tour of the midwestern and southern United States.
Not even Kristian Dunn, the duo’s lead guitarist and bassist, can accurately describe El Ten Eleven’s music.
“It’s funny, I can’t come up with a good way to describe us, but I can come up with ways not to describe us,” Dunn told me in an interview. “I don’t think we’re post rock. I don’t think we’re math rock. There’s definitely a dance element.”
El Ten Eleven’s unique blend of electronic, dance, indie rock, and post-rock is part of the reason the band has stayed out of the limelight. Kristian Dunn and his seemingly bionic drummer Tim Fogarty have been together for 14 years, even though their popularity’s peak came with the release of their debut record in 2004.
“Indie Rock? We’re indie in that we do everything on our own,” Dunn said. “But we’re not indie when it comes to the style of music that is known as indie.”
The duo’s mysteriousness was enough to draw a decent crowd to The Moon, even as Fat Tuesday approached. The band played several tracks from their newest release, “Mixtape 001,” as well as old hits like “My Only Swerving.”
Dunn came prepared with a rack of stringed intrsuments, including a fretless bass, a electric baritone guitar, and his trademark guitar/bass double neck. Fogarty played a full kit, complete with cowbell and an array of electronic drum sounds.
Together the duo produced dance rhythms and winding, layered riffs with technical precision. El Ten Eleven’s live performance was polished and professional — something to be expected from a band that’s been touring for over a decade.
As he bounced between what seemed like endless switches on his looping station, Dunn’s skill and self-discipline were obvious. He has an uncanny knack for creating complex compositions with a single instrument.
Dunn and Fogarty are the definition of a dynamic duo. Over the years, their act has only become more impressive. El Ten Eleven is band that stops in the capital city once every five years or so, and I feel lucky to have seen them in such an intimate setting.
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Live photos taken by Finn Turnbull of Fonald Photography
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