The Crowd was hot, sweaty and loving every moment. Russian Recording was packed with old friends, relatives and a few newcomers, curious to see what the hype was all about on Friday night. The Impossible Shapes wrapped up their ten-year career in fine fashion. Although the crowd was sad to see the band go, the mood wasn't somber, but rather a celebration of the band's music.
The night started off with Indianapolis-based band, and Secretly Canadian label mates Marmoset, who got the crowd moving with their lo-fi indie pop. The band that was formed in 1995 played songs spanning their catalogue, but also showcased some songs off of their up-coming Joyful Noise release Tea Tornado
Next up was Intro to Airlift, a Bloomington band featuring members of some important band of the Bloomington music scene in the early nineties, such as Yardmarvins and Yellow Based Red, and also Pete Schreiner on drums who plays in the Coke Dares with Impossible Shapes Members Chris Barth and Mark Rice. Although the band only plays shows roughly once every 18 months, they still sounded tight, and provided the crowd with indie-punk infused with Peter Hook style baselines that gave the music a subtle dark element.
Once Intro to Airlift was finished warming up the place, the 180+ crowd jammed into the Russian Recording live room, and lounge to witness a seminal event for Bloomington music. The Impossible Shapes had the crowd in the palm of their hands, as they had everyone dancing and nodding along in a psych-pop trance for the duration of their 1 hour 20 minute set. The band was reaching back playing many fan favorites from their five-album career. When all was said and done, everyone in attendance had witnessed an incredible show that didn't intensity and passion on all fronts. Everyone on the band played as if there was no tomorrow, and left us with one helluva swan song.
-Chris Werner
