Show Review – Young Widows + My Disco + Now Denial + Disappearer at Great Scott (5.8.2011)

Tonight’s show at Great Scott brought together quite an interesting – one non-local band (Young Widows), one band from another country (My Disco) and two locals (Disappearer and Now Denial).
Since there were no opening acts per se, I was hoping that YW & MD will go first, since I just checked out some audio samples of music by Now Denial and wasn’t impressed (to put it mildly).
Alas, my fantasy didn’t came to life and Now Denial started the show. They weren’t all that awful, but unfortunately that band creates the kind of music that I heard elsewhere and it sounded better elsewhere too.  Basically, they’re an OK metal/hardcore band with a lead singer who sounds as if though he’s about to be torn to pieces. (as a side note – I couldn’t help but notice that one of the band members looks a lot like Kim Thayil)
Disappearer (named, presumably, after a Sonic Youth tune of the same name) were a tad better – they used to be an instrumental band, but now have lyrics and proper vocals. They reminded me of some of AmRep bands (other compare them to Isis/Pelican) – good stuff (though vocals here, too, are pretty standard). They certainly have a sense of how to create a mean groove and bend and twist sounds in all kinds of directions.
Next up were My Disco – an Australian band that seems to be pretty high on hipster charts at the moment. Still, it sounds like one of those cases where hype (if there is any, indeed – those guys were around for a very long time, even before anyone came a-knockin’ on their door) is totally deserved – with their mix of minimalism, tribalism and overall unique approach to rock music, they seem to bring back all of those principles that post-punk is based on – total freedom and creativity (having said that – they probably tested a lot of patience for some of the folks in the room  – understandably, long and weird drum solos and noise freakouts are not everyone’s cup of tea).
Young Widows finally took the stage around midnight.  They were loud, they were abrasive, they were noisy – in short, they were anything that I expected and more. It goes without saying that anyone is highly recommended to check out their latest album – “In And Out Of Youth And Lightness“.
To sum it up, Young Widows and My Disco were both were excellent, although each in its own special way. Disappearer were surprisingly good, which is something that I can’t say about Now Denial.