Two different days, two different sets of two different dudes playing the same two instruments in two totally different ways. All in Rochester via LA.
First up, Sunday night with the Ninja Academy. They announced the opening of their set by banging a gong out in the bar area, donned entirely in black ninja gear mind you. Most band names these days are so obscure as to their origins that people don't even bother to ask anymore. Ninja Academy on the other hand are exactly what they say they are. Two ninjas schooling their audiences in the ways of ninja rock. Their weapons of choice? Bass for Indo-Ninja and Drums for Out-do Ninja. Most every song was introduced with a ninja yell, and many were ended in the same way. This was raw power punk (mostly) instrumental rock with some very nice melodies driving it all through and more variety than you might expect. And in character, always in character.
Crush the Junta opened up for them with a two-song thirty minute set of noise rock. Not quite as good as the last time I saw them, seemed a wee bit off (perhaps it was exactly what they were going for, what the hell do I know?) It was enjoyable nonetheless.
Then on Tuesday night it was back to the Bug Jar for more of the same, except completely different. It was the quick return of El Ten Eleven to Rochester, ye of KitschDork's top shows of 2008 fame. The crowd was no bigger than it was in November which surprised me, I thought the buzz would have grown from their last performance. Guess not enough people are reading this blog! Anyway, I don't know if that affected their playing, or if it was the continual and multiple technical difficulties they were having with all of their 1's and 0's, but the performance did not match the energy and excitement of November's show. Still, it was awe-inspiring.
As I watch Kristian Dunn manhandle his bass I just wonder, does it even matter that it is a bass? Seems like it could be any instrument after all the effects he is running it through. It was also amazing to me the way he has such control over the multiple loops with their perfect starts and stops and ins and outs. I love it when he gets a thick 3,4,5 part melody going and then just sits back and rocks the bass line for a bit underneath it all. And then you have a guy playing a freaking bass guitar on stage yet at times the drummer is the one playing the bass line through his loops. Ridiculous. They pulled out a couple of new tunes which was more of the same from them, which is to say they sounded awesome.
The contrast in style to Ninja Academy was fun to see and appreciate with the shows placed so closely together. Where Ninja Academy really used their instruments closer to their original intent to evoke a raw and powerful sound, El Ten Eleven brings the bass and drums to completely new territory for a much more refined and clean sound. Ninja Academy made your head rock, El Ten Eleven made your ass groove and your feet shuffle. Power rock vs. Techno rock. Fight to the death! as Ninja Academy would (and did) say.
The Indras opened. They would have fit in great with the early 90's jam rock scene. I don't mean that as an insult (quite the contrary), and I don't mean to say they sound like any band in particular, they just have that aura about them and the music was jammed out but not to the annoyance that it is with most jam bands these days. I could just see them playing on bills with the early Widespread Panics, Blues Travelers, The Hatters, and Spin Doctors of the world. They had a surprising mix of sounds, played a great instrumental tune in there, and just seemed like the genuine, laid-back, taking it as it comes kind of group. Their set got hurt somewhat by a drum heavy and muffled mix, with the vocals sometimes completely disappearing.
Showing posts with label Crush the Junta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Crush the Junta. Show all posts
30 April 2009
30 April 2008
Dead Meadow @ Bug Jar
Due to illness and general lack of sleep, I had to unfortunately pass on the Tea Leaf Green show last Thursday night which I had been planning on seeing for a while. But since I missed that one, I made sure to hit another show that was on my radar on Saturday, Dead Meadow back at the Bug Jar. I had never heard any of their music previously but their name had popped up recently in a few of the places I go for trustworthy recommendations, and the descriptions of their music piqued my interest.
There were two openers, both local bands. I had hoped to miss the first, I was still recovering and just didn't think I had it in me to sit through 3 bands that night. I called ahead and they said Dead Meadow would be starting at 11. I got to the bar around 10:20 or so. The first band came on about 15 minutes later. Crud. The 3 bands together formed a nice spectrum of the heavy rock genre. The first band was Crush the Junta. They played 3 songs in what was a little over 30m. Each song was a long very very very slow build to a very minimal release. Kind of reminded me a bit of the Explosions in the Sky general song structure, but without the soaring guitars, almost purely rhythm. Each musician would repeat the same thing over and over with slight variation and ever so slightly building in intensity. The drummer really was the leader and most varied in his playing, and he really kicked ass. He was from the band Tiger Cried Beef whom I saw open for Fiery Furnaces on the same stage a few months ago.
The next band was called Orodruin, a self-proclaimed death metal band. This was the band I was hoping to miss, so I was fairly annoyed when I realized I hadn't. I imagine death metal to be straight screaming and noise, and these guys were much more controlled and interesting than that. Fine musicianship (especially on guitar) and some deep dark rock anthems. It was bit over the top and almost campy to that end, but they were quite fun. Not exactly my bag, but when one of the bands I like comes out with the evilness these guys brought to every tune, I usually get pretty excited. so...
Finally, around 12:30, Dead Meadow came on. The exhaustion started to set in on my end. I was having a hard time staying awake throughout their set. That was partly my problem, but also, I have been to plenty of shows where my exhaustion quickly dissipates once the band starts kicking my ass. These guys were rocking pretty damn hard, but it was also lacking something, I don't know, maybe melody? Tough to say, but it didn't grab me like I wanted it to. I was ready to be smitten and have a new favorite rock band. The lead singer sounded a lot like Kurt Cobain to me. Do others feel that way? That wasn't an issue, just putting that out there. I just thought in the end that all of the songs kind of dripped into each other and they didn't really distinguish themselves. Still, I did like this band, somewhere in between the over the top metal of Orodruin, and the experimental instrumental rock of Crush the Junta. These guys had the goods. I look forward to seeing them again and hopefully I will be more alert to take it all in. I would love to see them share a stage with Rose Hill Drive. That would be a great double bill. In the meantime, I leave you with this:
There were two openers, both local bands. I had hoped to miss the first, I was still recovering and just didn't think I had it in me to sit through 3 bands that night. I called ahead and they said Dead Meadow would be starting at 11. I got to the bar around 10:20 or so. The first band came on about 15 minutes later. Crud. The 3 bands together formed a nice spectrum of the heavy rock genre. The first band was Crush the Junta. They played 3 songs in what was a little over 30m. Each song was a long very very very slow build to a very minimal release. Kind of reminded me a bit of the Explosions in the Sky general song structure, but without the soaring guitars, almost purely rhythm. Each musician would repeat the same thing over and over with slight variation and ever so slightly building in intensity. The drummer really was the leader and most varied in his playing, and he really kicked ass. He was from the band Tiger Cried Beef whom I saw open for Fiery Furnaces on the same stage a few months ago.
The next band was called Orodruin, a self-proclaimed death metal band. This was the band I was hoping to miss, so I was fairly annoyed when I realized I hadn't. I imagine death metal to be straight screaming and noise, and these guys were much more controlled and interesting than that. Fine musicianship (especially on guitar) and some deep dark rock anthems. It was bit over the top and almost campy to that end, but they were quite fun. Not exactly my bag, but when one of the bands I like comes out with the evilness these guys brought to every tune, I usually get pretty excited. so...
Finally, around 12:30, Dead Meadow came on. The exhaustion started to set in on my end. I was having a hard time staying awake throughout their set. That was partly my problem, but also, I have been to plenty of shows where my exhaustion quickly dissipates once the band starts kicking my ass. These guys were rocking pretty damn hard, but it was also lacking something, I don't know, maybe melody? Tough to say, but it didn't grab me like I wanted it to. I was ready to be smitten and have a new favorite rock band. The lead singer sounded a lot like Kurt Cobain to me. Do others feel that way? That wasn't an issue, just putting that out there. I just thought in the end that all of the songs kind of dripped into each other and they didn't really distinguish themselves. Still, I did like this band, somewhere in between the over the top metal of Orodruin, and the experimental instrumental rock of Crush the Junta. These guys had the goods. I look forward to seeing them again and hopefully I will be more alert to take it all in. I would love to see them share a stage with Rose Hill Drive. That would be a great double bill. In the meantime, I leave you with this:
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