The ER was relatively quiet for a Saturday night, but that didn't stop the new project of one Josh Rose (aka Sick Buildings and head of local noise label, Rundownsun) and his partner in crime, Ian. The duo, named Blouse, rocked two synths and Josh helmed the vocals, which, when the occasion arose, were taken right into the audience's faces, literally. Josh barked heavily distorted vocals (think Whitehouse) while Ian's synth oscillated intensely, creating an intense/tense atmosphere that the faithful few could not look away from. The duo worked best when both were rockin' the Rolands and pulling out some cross-oscillating "rhythms" that had all the noise kids in the room nodding their heads like entranced zombies. My sincere feeling is that, with a few more shows under their belt, Blouse will become an unstoppable juggernaut in the Vancouver music scene.
Certain Breeds followed Blouse with a great set of their post-punk/goth-tinged rock, and, once again, they were fuckin' awesome (see my Music Waste review). The band played a much more up-tempo set than their slower, pulsing set at Music Waste, and had the quickly growing crowd dancing away. Never noticed it the first time around (too drunk?) but they had a few rockers that came off like a track off a recent Oneida album. Anyone else pick this vibe up? Nonetheless, Certain Breeds is shaping up to be one of my favorite bands in this city.
The Dozell Brothers came all the way from El Paso, Texas to play both Pub 340 and the ER in the same night. After the 340 gig, The Dozell Bros set up their minimal gear quickly and surprised the crowd (no one seemed to know a damn thing about them) with a short energetic set of bent circuit dance beats. Pretty similar to Crystal Castles but less erratic and much bouncier. In fact, the band had such a bouncy vibe that the singer was pogo-ing with the crowd the entire time. They were entertaining but not necessarily my thing. Though, that being said, I did pick up a tape of theirs that had a 3D cover that came equipped with 3D glasses. Zoinks!
Mutators were exceptional as usual, which is most likely due to the massive US tour that they had finished up just a few weeks ago. I think that more bands in this city could learn a thing or two from these folks (and these folks) by setting up their own tour and playing their heart out every night. Some may break up over such an exhaustive endeavor, but any band standing after months on the road can only benefit from the constant playing. The being said, Mutators have gotten far more rhythmically advanced while still maintaining their harsh edge, which is always a recipe for a sweaty display of human pinball! A fine finish to a fine night.
No comments:
Post a Comment