The Octopus Project + Black Moth Super Rainbow

The Octopus Project + Black Moth Super Rainbow

Elysium, Saturday, March 17

Nothing is what it seems in The House of Apples and Eyeballs. The first live collaboration between Austin instrumental trio the Octopus Project, distinguished by their matching white shirts and black ties, and Pennsylvania pop ensemble Black Moth Super Rainbow, in various animal hats, was a technicolor haze of electronic bliss aided by live animation and a smoke machine. After a 20-minute delay, a struggle to make room on stage for both bands and their pedals, cables, and electronic wizardry, which left BMSR bassist Power Pill Fist perched atop his bass amp, the group burst through "All the Friends You Can Eat" and "Lollipopsichord." While a bit rough around the edges, the overwhelming presence of two drummers, two bassists, and four keyboardists was still as sweet as the handfuls of candy thrown at the crowd. The evening ended with a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song," TOP's Yvonne Lambert supplying the plaintive wail of Robert Plant via her theremin as animated supreme pizzas spun in the background. It was clearly a "Spiracle."