Pitchfork Day 2: Ponytail Interview

Ponytail is not jaded. (photo by Rachel Goldbrenner)

Ponytail put out one of my favorite records of 2008, the irrepressibly spazzy Ice Cream Spiritual, and has had a reputation for being one of Baltimore's best live bands for the past couple of years. The group's set Saturday afternoon combined loping swirls of guitar with the ultra-caffeinated nonsense vocals and pogo-stick stage presence of lead singer Molly Siegel. You may not be able to understand anything that Siegel sings, but it's clear that she's having a ball, and the energy is infectious.

I talked with Siegel, guitarists Ken Seeno and Dustin Wong, and drummer Jeremy Hyman after they came down from their set. They were as enthusiastic sitting on a dirt infield behind the stage where Beirut serenaded the crowd as they had been while they played, but I managed to keep them in their seats long enough to answer a few questions.

You played on a stage today that's bigger than what you're used to. Tell me what that was like.

Dustin: We're really used to playing at clubs, because that's where we've been touring, but at festivals, it's just a whole other scale. It's just a sea of people. It gave me goosebumps playing in front of all these people. It was a blast.

Ken: We've played almost 300 shows now, and we're really comfortable playing clubs. When there's excitement in the room, you can't deny it. But when there's excitement at a festival, that starts to get us really excited. I'm not saying we're jaded, but after you've been doing it so much, you start to feel the butterflies again. Maybe you haven't felt it in a while and it wakes you up a little bit.

Molly: It's weird, because this is maybe our third show outside with a huge stage and barriers. I was really psyched on the feeling of the crowd. The barrier thing is something I'm still getting used to, because I'm used to being able to touch them and get involved, but it's good to learn this. People are having a good time and in their own space. I thought it was really good. People seemed to be genuinely excited. It wasn't just a party. It wasn't too cool.

 

Did that dynamic change the way you play or the way you think about how you're going to do the show?

Dustin: When we're playing to a crowd that's not responding, a lot of times the show shifts to a thing where we're feeing off each other, trying to have a good time with each other.

Was that happening today?

All: No!

Ken: Today was like both having fun with each other and having fun with the audience. It was perfect. It was a really fun show.

Is there anybody today or tomorrow that you're really looking forward to?

Molly: I'm really excited to see M83. I have no idea what that's going to be like. I'm hoping the sound is going to be really insane or intense. They're such a trancy band. But I'm excited about other stuff, too. Flaming Lips and The Killer Whales.

Dustin: I'm looking forward to The Killer Whales too.

Jeremy: Me, too.

Are you going to take anything away from these other bands as far as the way you play?

Jeremy: I think these bigger shows, the focus changes more to sound because the nuances go away the further you are from us. The sound is much more important. In a basement or small club, if I hit a drum really hard, you'll notice. But here, I could hit it with a hammer and no one could tell the difference. You have to work hard to put more nuance in your sound. It's more about building mass and momentum.

What's the single best thing you've seen while you were here?

Molly: I saw this couple walking around; they're in a band, I think. They gave me a CD — they looked so crazy.

Was she the one with the ponytail sticking straight up from her head?

Molly: Yeah! And he was wearing parachute pants.

Ken: Watching Yeasayer play was great. We're on tour with them, so we've seen them play those songs dozens of times, but watching them play on the big stage and seeing people sing along was amazing.

Dustin: And the rain was incredible. It started raining right in the middle of their set, and then the sun came out right at the end.

Ken: I feel like it does that at every festival. There's that moment when it starts to rain and people go crazy. I saw Phil Lesh at Bonnaroo a long time ago, and the same thing happened. But people get excited just because they're at a festival. I felt bad, but it's fun. When you're at a festival, you have to let go, get out of that day-to-day thing.