Despite the squeaky clean image the Muppet collective maintained over the years, their drummer, Animal, was easily the most compelling and charimastic member of the bunch. Much like Keith Moon of The Who, Animal was, well, an animal on the drums.
But where did he go?
This may be a half-cocked theory rooted in speculation, but I have every reason to believe Animal truly is alive and well, and, more importantly, rocking his animal brains out as Zach Hill, drummer for the Sacramento spazz-rock duo Hella. Want proof? Pick up a copy of “Concentration Face/Homeboy,” a CD/DVD documentary of their 2004 tour of Japan.
“Homeboy,” the CD portion of the package, is a grueling affair. To most, it will come off as a 28-minute drum solo with random guitar chops thrown in to remind the listener that this is, in fact, a legitimate attempt at making a rock album. Hill’s marathon drum skills are nothing short of mind-boggling at times, but guitarist Spencer Seim fails to deliver the hooks that have cemented previous Hella efforts like their 2002 debut “Hold Your Horse Is.”
The Nintendo beats Seim tosses into the blender help make things interesting, but in the end, everyone remembers that Nintendo’s technical incapabilities are why it sucked so much. Just as you start to have fun, the whole thing crashes into a glitchy mess of computer noise, followed by a killer headache. The spartan reliability of a Sega Genesis would have complimented the mess of computer noise much more appropriately.
The DVD’s live performances of Hella’s freak-rock soup sound mostly the same as the recorded material on “Homeboy.” However, the addition of video footage of the band’s trek through The Land of the Rising Sun makes the Hella experience much more enjoyable.
The band definitely chose the right place to have director Ryan Walker Thomas make a video documentary. After watching “Concentration Face,” one thing becomes clear: the Japanese LOVE their noise-rock. The clips of the bleached-blonde Japanese teenagers rocking out in their Hello Kitty gear take the edge off Hill and Seim’s arsenal of face-melting, post-rock squallor. Those teenagers are a much better endorsement for the band than the confused Americans who caught Hella’s act when they were opening for System of a Down on tour last fall.
As with all tour documentaries, Thomas included plenty of images of the band moving in slow motion through the foreign streets of Japan, which at times seemed cliched and unnecessary. Hella makes music that’s more akin to a three-week meth bender, not a leisurely stroll through the bustling streets of Japan. A fast-forward montage of blurred lights would have been a more appropriate cliche.
Until a Muppets reunion tour comes along, Animal should be just fine staying underground, freaking out with Hella.
