"Go and breed to death.
Go and breed to death."
-- Dismantled, Breed To Death
Okay - so double post time! I just got back from watching this show - and then remembered that I still hadn't written anything about New Wave City. So I had to do that first.
Now my take on the performances of Dismantled et al.
Venue: Yes, we know. Meph really likes the DNA Lounge. It's a great venue. Excellent views everywhere. Hooray.
Only complaint is that DNA doesn't do a good job of promoting their shows. You only see DNA adverts at DNA - whereas everyone else (like the clubs at the Cat Club) advertise at other clubs whenever they can - sometimes months in advance.
The only reason I knew this show was even happening in time for me to attend was because I was checking the DNA website for info on New Wave City's 19th Anniversary and happened to scroll down a bit before closing the window.
And let's be honest here folks - Tuesday shows are already hard enough to get a crowd for. Not advertising widely just makes that worse.
Performances:
Limnus - First opening band was Limnus. I feel kind of bad, but they didn't impress me as much as I'd hoped.
They came across as very inexperienced on stage - so imagine my surprise when, after a little online research, I learned they've been performing for almost two years now. They didn't really seem to know what to check during their sound check, and then talked to the tech guys in between the first three songs to fix the sound issues a bit too late. Buzzkill guys.
The lead guitarist and the drummer were the ones that most caught my attention. The more metal-sounding songs, in particular, (mostly the last 3 of their set) really highlighted the skills of those two as musicians - with solid, driven beats and heavy, articulated riffs. Everyone else in the band felt a little lost in the soup resulting from the aforementioned lack of technical savvy.
Don't mistake my criticism though - it feels like there's some serious potential in this crew. But right now it just sort of feels like they need another two years of solid performance experience before they can translate that potential to their audience.
Everything Goes Cold - These guys had a very solid industrial metal sound.
Like a few too many industrial acts, they relied on vocal distortion; BUT they seem to have chosen a more warble-y distort rather than the standard "whisper-scream" that has become so common as to be considered (*GASP*) ordinary. Also, their keyboard/synth-man played a theremin for at least two of the songs and actually seemed at least passably proficient at it (rather than just using it for "weird noise"). So, I'm willing to grant them more than a few points for intelligent originality here.
Also, you could clearly hear the key-/synth-man's backup vocals, which often get lost in a lot of the industrial performances that I've seen. So that's another point in their favor.
And, hell, we even got some robot-dancing from the front-man. I'm not sure what kind of trifecta that really is, but I'm willing to consider it a win, all-around. Got me to buy an album - so clearly they did something right.
Dismantled - These are the folks I paid to see. And I'm about to tell you why.
Dismantled and his live crew (in performance, Dismantled - who is actually the "front-man" and sole permanent member of the entity going by that name - is usually accompanied by TZA on keyboards and back-up vocals and Jon Siren on drums. Tonight he also had Nero Bellum of Psyclon Nine playing guitar) perform as a HOT. FUCKING. MESS. And I do mean HOT.
Seriously, based on his albums, you'd expect this clean, sharp electro-industrial sound - and instead you get this screaming post-apocalyptic diesel-punk industrio-metal noise...
And it's fucking awesome. Especially with the black-grease radioactive-zombie aesthetic they've got going. Imagine a five-way drunken car accident that is chaotic, intense, and somehow magnificent to hear and watch. I don't know how they pull it off, but that's Dismantled live.
That's really all I need to say on that matter.
Two points of further awesome, anyway:
-- Mr. M.
Go and breed to death."
-- Dismantled, Breed To Death
Okay - so double post time! I just got back from watching this show - and then remembered that I still hadn't written anything about New Wave City. So I had to do that first.
Now my take on the performances of Dismantled et al.
Venue: Yes, we know. Meph really likes the DNA Lounge. It's a great venue. Excellent views everywhere. Hooray.
Only complaint is that DNA doesn't do a good job of promoting their shows. You only see DNA adverts at DNA - whereas everyone else (like the clubs at the Cat Club) advertise at other clubs whenever they can - sometimes months in advance.
The only reason I knew this show was even happening in time for me to attend was because I was checking the DNA website for info on New Wave City's 19th Anniversary and happened to scroll down a bit before closing the window.
And let's be honest here folks - Tuesday shows are already hard enough to get a crowd for. Not advertising widely just makes that worse.
Performances:
Limnus - First opening band was Limnus. I feel kind of bad, but they didn't impress me as much as I'd hoped.
They came across as very inexperienced on stage - so imagine my surprise when, after a little online research, I learned they've been performing for almost two years now. They didn't really seem to know what to check during their sound check, and then talked to the tech guys in between the first three songs to fix the sound issues a bit too late. Buzzkill guys.
The lead guitarist and the drummer were the ones that most caught my attention. The more metal-sounding songs, in particular, (mostly the last 3 of their set) really highlighted the skills of those two as musicians - with solid, driven beats and heavy, articulated riffs. Everyone else in the band felt a little lost in the soup resulting from the aforementioned lack of technical savvy.
Don't mistake my criticism though - it feels like there's some serious potential in this crew. But right now it just sort of feels like they need another two years of solid performance experience before they can translate that potential to their audience.
Everything Goes Cold - These guys had a very solid industrial metal sound.
Like a few too many industrial acts, they relied on vocal distortion; BUT they seem to have chosen a more warble-y distort rather than the standard "whisper-scream" that has become so common as to be considered (*GASP*) ordinary. Also, their keyboard/synth-man played a theremin for at least two of the songs and actually seemed at least passably proficient at it (rather than just using it for "weird noise"). So, I'm willing to grant them more than a few points for intelligent originality here.
Also, you could clearly hear the key-/synth-man's backup vocals, which often get lost in a lot of the industrial performances that I've seen. So that's another point in their favor.
And, hell, we even got some robot-dancing from the front-man. I'm not sure what kind of trifecta that really is, but I'm willing to consider it a win, all-around. Got me to buy an album - so clearly they did something right.
Dismantled - These are the folks I paid to see. And I'm about to tell you why.
Dismantled and his live crew (in performance, Dismantled - who is actually the "front-man" and sole permanent member of the entity going by that name - is usually accompanied by TZA on keyboards and back-up vocals and Jon Siren on drums. Tonight he also had Nero Bellum of Psyclon Nine playing guitar) perform as a HOT. FUCKING. MESS. And I do mean HOT.
Seriously, based on his albums, you'd expect this clean, sharp electro-industrial sound - and instead you get this screaming post-apocalyptic diesel-punk industrio-metal noise...
And it's fucking awesome. Especially with the black-grease radioactive-zombie aesthetic they've got going. Imagine a five-way drunken car accident that is chaotic, intense, and somehow magnificent to hear and watch. I don't know how they pull it off, but that's Dismantled live.
That's really all I need to say on that matter.
Two points of further awesome, anyway:
- I got to pick up Dismantled's new album, The War Inside Me, to listen to on the way home.
- And I got to chat a little bit with Nero Bellum, who is a very excellent gentleman when he's not shredding riffs or throwing guitars about on stage (and, for those who haven't seen him before - he is pretty as fuck - so color me jealous, boy-o). In all seriousness, he seems a very cool guy and I'm hoping for the opportunity to talk to him more in the future.
-- Mr. M.
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