In a totally expected blast of heavenly blips, Boston’s best synthpop act teamed up with Boston’s best synthpop escapees and proceeded to rock the house. In what seemed to be an odd move on the part of the management, Zia held the opening slot, even though they were the out-of-town act and the featured guests. Nevertheless they took the stage ready to give Boston a taste of what it lost ten years ago when the members of Zia packed up and left for New York City. Opening up the set with recent releases such as Nibiru and Golden, Zia definitely caught the attention of all assembled. Unfortunately this did not exclude them from the dreaded 5ft taboo assigned to opening acts and most of the crowd formed a detached little horseshoe about 6ft away from the stage. This is shame since the band’s stage presence, especially frontwoman Elaine’s, is very inviting and fun-loving. Powering through a set riddled with both new and old material, Zia showcased a huge sonic variety that was all controlled through some very well designed and aesthetically pleasing midi triggers. The only low points of the set were the occasional technical difficulties that seemed to plague the rhythm track. Liz, Elaine and Matt all showed the assembled crowd that not only is space cool, performing music about space can be even better. If NASA ever needed an avenue to reach younger audiences, Zia would be a no-brainer of a first choice. From their infectious and danceable microtonal riffs to their industrialesque walls of noise, Zia did not disappoint. By the end of their set the crowd was clearly into it and more than a few heads were bopping along to the beat. Then Freezepop took the stage.

Arriving to a chorus of cheers Freezepop was more than warmly received by the crowd. The magic 5 foot safety gap disappeared and fans approached the stage to take some frozen treats from the large bag that Liz carried on stage. As a testament to Liz Enthusiasm’s incredibly original fashion taste, I first mistook the large, tubular, clear sack of colorful freezepops to be some kind of funky purse of duffel bag. Even when she’s giving out free food, Liz still does it in style. Sean was in typical cyber-mod style with a Mark Ecko styled jacket complimented with some very keen aviator sunglasses. The Duke entered in suitable cyberwear with some more fashions that appear to have come straight out of one of Cyberdog’s stores. Perhaps he did some shopping while touring Europe. Clothing aside, the performance was a little more lax than usual but it was definitely as much, if not more, fun as always. There was no real setlist, so audience suggestions were both welcomed and performed. This led to a very random, freeform show that was intimate and utterly enjoyable. Highlights of the set included two new songs not found on any CD and a very hard rocking outtro to Get Ready To Rokk. After Liz’s amazing death metal performance at the end of the latter piece, the Duke decided to throw some superbly blippy renditions of Smoke On the Water and Crazy Train into the mix. This is only helped by the fact that rendering anything into a form usable for the QY-70 sequencer makes it sound really damn great. By great, I mean blippy and totally mechanical, which is a very good take one some far-too-often covered classics. As has been the case at prior shows, the band was very friendly with the crowd and promoted one of the most overwhelming atmospheres of happiness that can legally had. This show really wasn’t a headline/opener ordeal and that made it all the better. Two highly talented, energetic bands that gave the audience an astounding musical evening for a mere $7 ticket charge. This is one of the best pairings in synthpop and hopefully the duo of Freezepop and Zia will come to your area. If they do, get to that show, it is not something that should be missed. Cancel the dentist appointment, call the sitter, ditch your significant other (unless they like Zia and Freezepop) and get yourself to the club. You owe yourself a dose of the best, blippy synthpop therapy to be had anywhere.