Last Night Words Fail
posted by on March 22 at 1:24 PM
Boredoms, Human Bell @ Neumo’s
Well said, Trent. It’s hard to put last night’s Boredoms show into words. I’ve been staring at this blank slate for a minute now trying to figure out a title for this post, and I still have nothing.
Let’s start with Human Bell, who are at least a little more comprehensible than the Boredoms. Human Bell is David Heumann of Arbouretum and Nathan Bell of Lungfish, a Dischord band that I never got into but that everyone seems to hold in high regard. The band name is, amongst other things, a play on their last names. Last night, they performed as a trio—drums, guitar, double-necked guitar, sometimes trumpet. They played on the floor of Neumo’s, lights turned down dark, roped off from the crowd like an exhibit at a museum. Their songs were slow-riffing drones carried by hard pounding drums. Before the last song, which featured some sqealing free jazz trumpet, one of the guys did a funny little jig. It was a good set.
But then it was time for the Boredoms. The set began with ringleader EYE holding two orbs of light, one in each hand, swinging them in slow arcs, holding them aloft, chanting and screaming, while the rest of the band sat ready, triangulating him between their three drum kits. It was dark except for those orbs, but every once in a while a digital camera’s lcd screen lit up—photography was not allowed at the show—and a beam of light would shine down from above the stage, security spotlighting the offender.
When the band kicked in, it was a rush—three drummers locked in frenetic synch, starting and stopping, leaving large gaps that were filled with either EYE or the crowd or both screaming. EYE hit the necks of the seven-headed guitar hydra with drum sticks, each neck seemingly tuned to a different chord, drumming out percussive progressions (a fifth person on stage seemed mostly to attend to this instrument, tuning the various guitars throughout the show). The guitars’ sound came as washed out, diffused, intangible tones and echoes, accompanied by EYE’s echoing shouts. It sounded like the band was perched on the edge of a cliff, overlooking a turbulent ocean, shouting into the wind and abyss, elemental and precarious.
Next to me in the crowd, a guy was holding his cell phone open for someone to hear the show. I can’t imagine they were getting the whole experience on the other end of the line, though.
Next, EYE crouched at a bank of effects and pedals, chanting into a mic and twisting the sounds into foreign shapes, while Yoshimi P-We played synthesizer, and Senju and Yojiro kept the drums rolling. Their sound kept running up to the edge then pulling back, swelling, cresting, and breaking like waves. After maybe 20 minutes of this, they pause, to massive cheers.
They launched back in with more echoing guitar bursts over propulsive drumming, the three drummers hitting the tight changes practically telepathically. Certain sounds or strains of guitar sounded familiar, but it was hard to recognize distinct songs—was that the riff from “7777” or “(two circles)”? Up front, a few guys slammed into each other while a giant flange washed over the crowd. During a lull, EYE howled one sustained note, and the crowd intoned along with him, resonating the whole room. If last night was a sacrifice, it was made at the temple of pure sound.
Next, EYE was waving some white, electronic wand, conducting crescendos and falls, then bending and stretching a synth tone by fiddling with one end of the device. There were laser bursts. There was primordial pre-psych. My notes became increasingly illegible. EYE said, “Thank you, Seattle.” They returned for an encore, drums slipping in and out of one last groove before the crowd emptied out, ritual performed, and returned into the world.
Photo by Morgan Keuler.
Photo by Morgan Keuler.
Photo by Morgan Keuler.
Photo by Morgan Keuler.
Photo by Morgan Keuler.
This week there was alot of great new records to choose from including Big Bear Records new 12” edit record entitled, Eebay City from Lexx, Tirk’s new release from Chaz Jankel, as well as great new records from Diskjokke, Putsch ‘79, and Wild Rumpus. However, if I have to choose just one record to highlight, I’m going with the new KAT Records released disco re-edit 12” from DJ Raahan. This re-edit label has already given us some amazing re-edit 12” from some of today’s hottest disco producers including Danny Krivit. Greg Wilson, and Sasso. Here we have Chicago’s disco master, DJ Raahan, bringing some heat with his edits of La Pamplemousse’s “You Can Get Off On The Muzik”, Bent Boys’ “Walk the night”, Two Tons of Fun’s “Make Someone Feel Happy”, and my personal favorite, Eddie Kendricks’ 1976 classic Thanks For The Memories. Overall, this is another great re-edit 12”, and a must have for disco lovers. Chalk up another great release from the crew over at KAT! 
The Croc’s Jim Anderson talks about electricity and grounding and how to safely check a mic to see if there is current running through it.
Russian Circles photo by Ryan Russell
A day is never clear. A day is an amazing light show. Light is bent and distorted by distance, dust particles, random hexagonal ice crystals, heating gases, and the vibrations of vapors. Sunlight bounces from droplet to droplet. Blue rays concentrate here. Orange rays disperse there. The shadows, sun ripples, sun dogs, fog, smog, solar halos, coronas, mountains of clouds, glories, rainbows, inferior mirages, superior mirages, green flashes—what we daily see in our agitated atmosphere has its match in what hear in the agitated sounds of dub. Was ist dub? Dub is a 
I haven’t covered a lot of newer cosmic disco lately, however, a local Seattle producer under the name 
Who is and isn’t gangster? An inquiry. 
I’ve really been into the classic Patrick Adams’ productions as of late. Here is another, with this time being Mary Clark’s late 70’s classic “Take Me I’m Yours”. This record was written and produced by both Adams and West End Records disco producer Billy Nichols whom is most known for his production of the classic 1979 disco hit “Give Your Body Up To The Music”. Adams and Nichols come together here for Clark’s most notable effort. “Take Me I’m Yours” was released as a 12-inch single under one of Adams many NY record labels, this time being the very short established La Shawn label. Overall, it’s an amazing disco track that has a bit of a mid-tempo gospel/soul feel thing going on. This track was also featured recently on Rapster Records’ The Kings of Disco compil