Matthew Dear is best-known as minimal techno God "Audion", co-founder of America's renowned electronic label, Ghostly International. But on Thursday night at Hiro Ballroom, Dear was on stage not as a DJ, but as frontman to his latest project, a three-piece rock/"experimental" act called Big Hands. The stellar opening act, though, was proof of Dear's DJ-cred: electronic duo Junior Boys spun for about an hour before Dear's set.

The crowd was mixed: some had clearly come ready to dance, while others seemed to have come just to see a band called Matthew Dear's Big Hands, without knowing much about them. Proof of the band's electronic background was in the laptop that sat at the ready next to Matthew's mike. This he occasionally tapped to produce simple loops for each song, as John Gaviglio on bass and Mark Maynard on drums provided a spare, minimal-techno-inspired backbone to the set.

The name that most came to mind when listening to Big Hands was the Talking Heads, whose sound similarly rides a line between pop, rock and funk. Interestingly, Dear's act is far more even keel, pounding away at the same bass lines and melodies without reaching an obvious climax or big "dance moment". Even his leagues-deep voice provides a kind of mellowing effect. While I admired Dear's Bowie-esque presence, I thought at least one beat-laden, dance-driven song would have rounded out the night.

But maybe it's for the best: dancing would have been nearly impossible in the crowded venue, anyway. People lucky enough to sit in booths seemed content to bob their heads, the show a kind of background music to a fancy club (complete with $12 drinks and bottle service). The saving grace: a girl I met was visiting from Iceland. She said she loved Matthew Dear, and during his set she briefly stood on top of one of the booths and unashamedly got her groove on. If that's the kind of fan techno-cred can get you, more power to the Big Hands.

Adulent fans go wild during the Junior Boys' set