Just got back from the Boris show... holy fuckin' shit does my back hurt.
First off, a big thumbs down to Webster Hall/Ticketmaster for advertising tonight's show as being 7 PM doors (for which one logically assumes an 8 PM showtime)... both Webster Hall's website and (more importantly) the ticket had the wrong info. When I rolled up to the venue tonight at about quarter after 7 I was informed that doors were at 6 PM and that the first band had gone on at 7. Oh, fudgesicles.
So consequently I wound up missing the first half of Clouds' set. When I walked into the room I knew by their twin Les Paul attack that this wasn't going to be some hipster metal irony fest -- these guys came to rock. I knew nothing about them before today, but I liked what I heard: they kind of sounded like Panthers, or maybe like a more hardcore Priestess or Bad Wizard. They seemed good-natured about playing for "the early crowd" and in turn the audience was fairly receptive.
Up next was Torche, who I hadn't seen live since '06 when they were supporting Mogwai. Their new album, Meanderthal, is pretty great, being the second-best "heavy" record I've heard this year, just behind Goes Cube's awesome Not What We Thought EP. These guys took the stage a little before 8 and treated the crowd to some seriously punishing material, much of it from the new album, with the highlight (for me, at least) being the super-catchy "Across the Shields."
Between sets I noticed Justin from The Austerity Program (read this for my brief-yet-thorough take on that fine band) was in attendance, so I chatted him up about the availability of their excellent new single, "Song 20 (The River)" which is out on 7". I was wondering if it would be coming to iTunes any time soon, which doesn't seem too likely, although if you buy the 7" here you get directions on how to download mp3s of the songs, so that's cool. Of couse during said conversation I was actually wearing an Austerity Program tee shirt, so I'm officially the biggest dork in the room.
Boris came on, and I knew two expect two things: 1.) asskicking metal goodness running the gamut from breakneck speed metal to ethereal drones, and 2.) my back would give out, forcing me to leave the show early. This is the fourth time I've seen Boris live (Sept. '06 at Northsix, Oct. '07 at Music Hall of Williamsburg, this March at Knitting Factory and tonight, duh) and the fourth time out of four that, yup, both of those things happened.
The set itself was great. Michio Kurihara was guesting, which for me is a positive in that his guitar playing is phenomenal, ranging from wah-wah stompin' to chunky, inventive chords to masterful control over his distortion and feedback. The negative is that on many songs it reduces Wata's contributions to practically nil. And with Webster Hall's reputation for atrocious sound mixes... yeah. (Case in point: the bass was barely audible all night. Seriously man, if you're the sound guy how do you not notice and fix this immediately?!)
They started off with the psychedelic "Flower Sun Rain" from their recent Smile LP, before shooting into a mini-set of thrashing fury: "Buzz-In," "Laser Beam," the title Track from '06's stellar Pink and "Statement." The action in the pit was pretty wild, as always consisting mainly of overexcited tweens and terrified, bearded fatasses caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Next we got a song which reminded me a lot of Queens of the Stone Age's "Avon," which despite me having no idea what the fuck it was was probably the set's highlight for me. What a riff! Next came "My Neighbor Satan," probably Smile's high water mark, with the live effort replacing the album version's dubby trippiness with a bonecrushing three guitar attack. Sadly, this is the point at which my back pain became too excruciating for me to concentrate on the music... I do remember that they played another song before "You Were Holding an Umbrella," and I left during what sounded to me like "[ ]" but honestly I don't remember.
So yeah, same as always for me at a Boris show: great music, lots of pain. So it goes.
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Not sure what my deal is this weekend but if I had to place a bet I'd wager on Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson at Glasslands tomorrow night, free Goes Cube/Giraffes show at McCarren on Saturday during the day, and the free Breeders show on Sunday, also at McCarren. 'Til next time, TudddMerica!
