ustxtxb_obs_2010_11_26_50_00025-00000_000.pdf

The Octopus Project PHOTO BY AUBREY EDWARDS CULTURE CRITIC’S NOTEBOOK The Octopus Show by Josh Rosenblatt N THE WORLD OF POPULAR MUSIC, THERE MAY be no harder tightrope to walk than the one between experimentalism and mass appeal. The two so rarely work together that when they dofor example, when Radiohead’s Kid A went to No. 1 on the Billboard chartseven the artists seem shocked. Likewise, Austin electro-band Octopus Project has spent the past decade working its way toward mainstream acceptance. Bit by bit, the NOVEMBER 26, 2010 Texas foursome has made the odd sound normal by spiking their experimental tendencies with satisfying melodies and rock ‘n’ roll abandon. The band’s love of electro-intellectualizing and showmanship has come together in Hexadecagon, a multimedia performance that features live music and synchronized video projections. The band plays in the center surrounded by lights, speakers and screens. Above, kaleidoscopic video loops by Wiley Wiggins \(whom you may remember as the TI-LE TEXAS OBSERVER 1 25