Tonight’s show at the Middle East brought together a fairly diverse line-up – an instrumental/post-rock band from Chicago, hardcore band from Massachusetts and sludgy/noisy group from Japan named after Melvins song.
So how did the three of them sounded? Read on….
Russian Circles – What started out as a rather standard post-rock set eventually turned into a great showcase of the band’s metal-flavored sound (somewhat similar to bands like Pelican – although to these ears, RC sound a bit more complex than aforementioned act). In fact, if it wasn’t for the lack of lead singer and a lot of quieter moments, they could’ve been mistaken for a big ol’ heavy metal band (but then, again, their music is a lot more intricate than that of a lot of regular metal bands).
Cave In – Unlike RC, Cave In wasted no time in getting to the point. They hit the proverbial pedal, pushed it to the floor and kept it there until the end of their set. Utterly deafening and utterly divine in the way that it attacked all senses, their music proved to be the best soundtrack to the evening.
Boris – Started out by playing a couple of fairly quiet songs, but by the third track it all turned into a sludge/noise-fest. Not bad, but I expected more of them as headliners and so the verdict is…
That a crown for the best act of the evening should go to Cave In – for providing an aural orgasm. a (thankfully failed) attempt to destroy everyone’s eardrums and simply for keeping it real. Its hard to tell who should get the 2nd and 3rd prize, because both Boris and RC were equally good, so they could share a prize between themselves.
Video Credits: Odallard / Wildsea320 / Trebmal007
Ripping Off Brian Eno Since 2008