If had actually heard Holy Fuck's LP before the end of '07, it would probably have ranked about #9 or so on my 2007 best-of albums list -- it's that good. With the possible exception of the new Times New Viking album, it's been my most-listened-to record so far of '08 (due partly to the fact that it's probably the best workout CD I've ever heard). I'm usually very skeptical when it comes to electronic music (because most of it is useless) but LP somehow manages to exhibit pretty much exactly what I do like about the genre while managing to avoid the pitfalls of many popular groups (more on this later). And on a bill with A Place to Bury Strangers? No brainer.
Truth be told, I wasn't really feeling it before the show; I fell off the wagon with a resounding thud on Friday, drinking heavily with Tuddd's Muddd reader Jake (aka Beefy D) while watching tournament games, and I was still super hung over all Saturday morning, complete with BNTs, "jelly-legs" and an aching back. So I smoked some dope and headed in to Yuppie Northsix at about 8, getting in the door by quarter to nine. Opening band Beat the Devil was shockingly good: kind of a bluesy/punky pastiche courtesy of their super-charismatic frontwoman, with fuzz bass, some harmonium (!) and occasional theremin type thingy on some songs. Who to compare them to... maybe a way more cooler and passionate Rosebuds? I dunno.
Personal fave A Place to Bury Strangers was up next. This being at least the fourth time I've caught these guys live over the past year, I was shocked to see that I hadn't done a concert write-up for this (shitty) blog yet when I did an article search. So here goes. Self-billed as "NYC's loudest band," these guys throw MBV, Jesus and Mary Chain in a blender, topping that off with krautrock-style drumming and rock-solid bass playing. Add in striking visuals (projected on a sheet behind the band), strobe lights, occasional equipment destruction, and enough feedback (courtesy frontman Oliver Ackerman's homemade distortion pedals) to rumble your innards. They opened with the unreleased "Gimme Acid," going into "Don't Think Lover" and "To Fix the Gash in Your Head" and "I Know I'll See You" (all from their self-titled first album) along with a couple of other unreleased jams before Ackerman began precariously swinging his guitar around his upper body, eventually spiking it to the stage and ripping the strings off. During this, bassist Jono managed to lock into a perfect feedback drone which led into arguably the Strangers' best song and perennial set closer, "Ocean." Awesome.
By this point, I was sweaty, exhausted, and wondering if making it through another set would even be possible-- as Holy Fuck set up their gear I was regretting smoking so much weed before the show. But shortly after they started playing, it was pretty obvious why they have one up on every other electronic act out there today. They take Battles' energy, live drumming and (occasional) distorted vocals, while avoiding Battles' allergy to hooks. They take !!!'s (again, occasional) devotion to grooves and do away with the shitty, generic R+B vocals and annoying frontman. They emulate Ratatat's devotion to melody while leaving behind the repetition and sameyness. They take the Fuck Buttons' uncanny ability to incorporate distortion while leaving behind the lengthy stretches of uselessness. And so on.
At the end of the set they called A Place to Bury Strangers back onstage for a noisy run-through of "Lovely Allen." So far, the musical highlight of the year for me, and of the 20 or so shows I've seen so far, #1 with a bullet.
Tonight: Raveonettes at Maxwell's. Gotta go.
