NonCOMM Recap: Chicano Batman closes out night one in style

Chicano Batman | photo by John Vettese for WXPN

With suave instrumental tones and a debonair look, Los Angeles outfit Chicano Batman closed out night one of NonCOMM 2017 with a breezy-yet-energized performance of songs from their 2017 LP Freedom Is Free and a couple selections from their back-catalogue.

Drawing on funk, psychedelia and classic pop, the band was tonally rich and intriguing, while singer and organist Bardo Martinez proved to be a captivating and charismatic frontperson. He gestured with dramatic aplomb on “Friendship,” later leaping over the stage monitors to stand (and sing) among the crowd during the grooving title track of 2015’s Black Lipstick.

The six song set also dug back to Chicano Batman’s 2010 self-titled debut for a performance of the cosmic “Balloon” to close out the night. Listen to the performance in the player below, and check out a gallery of photos from the set. Chicano Batman returns to Philly this July for the XPoNential Music Festival; tickets and more information can be found at the XPN Concert Calendar.

Setlist
Freedom is Free
Friendship
Black Lipstick
Right Off the Back
Run
Balloon