The first time I saw experimental rockers El Ten Eleven in concert they were opening for Peter Hook, who gained notoriety as the bassist for one of the penultimate post-punk bands, Joy Division.

Hook had a two-day run at The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles in 2011 with his band Peter Hook & the Light, who specialized in playing old Joy Division and New Order—the band created by remaining members of Joy Division after the death of frontman Ian Curtis. Joy Division is one of my favorite bands of all time, and I was so ecstatic to get the opportunity to (semi-) see them live, that I had failed to listen to the opening act prior to the concert, as I often make a habit of doing. I did, however, make it in time to see the opener that night, and my mind was instantly blown.

El Ten Eleven is composed of only two musicians, Kristian Dunn and Tim Fogarty, on guitar/bass and the drums respectively. They are known for their heavy use of looping by way of a plethora of effects pedals and a near-complete lack of vocals. Now, if you're listening to them for the first time digitally (or on vinyl or tape, if you still dig analog), these facts would be unbeknownst to you and you'd probably just think they had some sick, catchy melodies. To watch this all unfold on stage, however, was something quite different.

First, I see only two men walk out and instantly question how this could even be considered a complete "band," only to quickly realize that Dunn was holding, not a guitar, not a bass, but a double-necked guitar-bass combo! Like, how cool is that? Based on the instruments on stage, I expect some sort of basic alt-rock, and am pleasantly surprised to hear that the sounds coming out of Dunn's stringed wonder were not at all those of a guitar or a bass (although they occasionally can be), but instead something more similar to a synth with samples galore. Then I become aware that he is fiddling with his feet a lot. I glance down and catch a peek at the aforementioned pedal selection.

It is fair to say that I am more than impressed, and allow myself to be fully immersed in their both atmospheric and danceable tunes for the rest of the set. They do the usual end-of-show thanks and walk off stage, and the pièce de résistance, I realize that they hadn't sung a single word.

It is with these very high standards in mind that I bought tickets to a show, not weeks, but months in advance, when I saw they were playing at the Catalyst. The Catalyst is in downtown Santa Cruz, which makes it Santa Cruz's and therefore UC Santa Cruz's resident music venue. And even though the night of the show I did not really want to go after a long day of classes and work, I psyched myself up, put on an appropriately cool outfit, and Ubered over.

I got there about 15 minutes after the band was set to go on—there was no opener according to the website—but the place was dead, and no one was playing. I stood around making light conversation with some fellow fans, some more diehard than others, until an unexpected opening act, Sego, came out on stage. I was not only surprised by the appearance of the opener but also how freakin' good they were! Sego is self-described as slacker-punk or "axiomatic triangle" (referencing a musicologist's breakdown of music into folk, art, and pop denominations), and has that grungy groove-ability and scraggly vocals you'd expect from something dubbed "slacker." But they also had super impressively complex instrumentation and highly relatable lyrics for a 20-something like myself. My fellow viewers and I agreed that we were significantly dazzled by Sego's talent and had a blast getting to dance it out. It's only fitting that a band I was introduced to by complete happenstance would subsequently do the same for another group.

Then the main event, my first encounter with El Ten Eleven in almost five years, and they did not disappoint. They played not only music from their previous five albums but also from this year's release "Fast Forward." Regardless of some new material, I found myself in the same dance-y trance I had previously been in, and noticed others do the same. I even had the foresight to post this Facebook status about one of the older attendee's moves:

Only to have to post this unfortunate amendment:

Uncomfortable flirtation aside, overall, I had an amazing time during their set, making new friends, running into fellow classmates (as is all too common at the Catalyst), and getting the chance to let off some steam after a long day. I'm also always up for discovering new music and have been playing Sego around the house since the show—my roommate actually asked me who I was listening to while writing this article!

Better than anything was the nostalgia brought on by seeing a band I hadn't seen since high school when life was oh-so-different and I was living far further down the coast. I felt the same excitement they incited in me for their incredible live talent the first time around.