(No longer live) from SXSW (Friday night – part 2)
Posted by Val in Concert Reviews, Highlights, RandomI kinda felt like after the two hour hassle that it took to get into the Subpop showcase that maybe we should’ve stayed at least for Helio Sequence…if not also for No Age. However, we decided that the Panache showcase across the street at Flamingo Cantina was calling our name and although we regrettably missed The Apes, one of the awesome DC acts not at DC Does TX, the triple hitter of Old Time Relijun, HEALTH (yes…again) and The Mae Shi.
I’d heard all sorts of high praise for Old Time Relijun and sure enough the longer these guys played, the more I was convinced that, wow, these folks are brilliant. For starters, the drumming was just excellent. I’m a percussion lover but I don’t always necessarily notice that sort of excellence right off…especially when there’s so much going on in front. But this crew was the first of three for the night that was able to take noisy improvisational sounds and actually make outright songs out of them. In fact, I’d say they did that the best out of the three as there were some punk elements and jazzy bluesy elements in their music as well (complete with stand up bass)…and a singer with a groovy mustache. Furthermore, I saw one of them put both a bass and tenor sax in his mouth at the same time…and play them both. I’m a convert to the Old Time Relijun.
The only thing that can really be said about HEALTH that I didn’t say before is that they didn’t even put on exactly the same set that they did last time which I found totally refreshing. This set was significantly longer, and though they dropped the four part vocals backed only by drums, they added more vocals into the mic, more freaking out around stage and more ways to manipulate their instruments to come out with sounds that made no sense…yet…made perfect sense. It’s a good thing that these guys only had five shows at this year’s SXSW…I don’t think they could’ve held up that sort of energy level with the Mae Shi’s schedule.
The Mae Shi played eighteen shows. That beats out last year’s hardest working band of SXSW (The Black Lips) by four. Seeing these guys reminded me of the first time I’d seen Les Savy Fav…except without the sweaty, half-naked pirate-mask wearing frontman. But similarly, there were no boundaries between band and audience as they started the show in among the audience, frequently threatened to hit us with their guitar and bass necks and then threw a tarp over our head…and then played underneath it…before then taking the tarp and making a ghost out of one of the members. It was like a laundry list of “what are they going to do next” and much like Les Savy Fav…these guys have the songs to back up the insanity.
They don’t sound like a French Kiss band, but they are big on the discord, not big on actual singing so much as actual intensity, and there was even a math-y element thrown in there. I left feeling like I had just seen the best set back to back to back anywhere that night…period. My only regret is that I didn’t also see The Apes play before Old Time Relijun…but as they’re a DC band, I’ll get my chance. Great great night.
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