Sometimes, all it takes is the magic of simplicity – and a few funky dance moves, and you’ve got yourself a badass music video.
The Stacks‘ “Chicon,” is a nighttime traipse through empty parking lots and a few assorted spaces brightly lit by neon revealing a mostly deserted city. Shot in April 2020, the camera follows guitarist/vocalist Jake Ames along the empty streets and passageways like it’s Adventure Time, because…what else is there to do in the too-quiet, shuttered-down landscape? These are images of the pandemic’s beginnings, only this vibe injects a bit more hope than desolation. Gotta keep dancing. Even if “I’m the only one / Dancing in this town / I’m the only one dancing / To the beat.”
Now The Stacks brings us “St. Michael,” directed and produced by Stewart Parker, opening with a cautionary warning shouting at us in all caps, “CONSIDER THE CONSEQUENCES,” from what appears to be a ’70s corporate safety video. Accidents! Injuries! Some blood, at one point, and – one WTF moment – electrocution? Damn. It’d be nice if the archangel was in the vicinity, because yikes… All in the midst of “St. Michael’s” vibrant pop shimmer.
Catch The Stacks this Friday, June 4, at Radio Coffee and Beer, 4204 Menchaca Rd. Another awesome line-up with Hong Kong Wigs, Lizzie Buckley, and Chase Weinacht (Marmalakes). The music kicks off at 7 p.m., and social distancing is in effect.