Weekend Review (belated)

Quick recap of a couple shows this last Saturday. The night started off at Anti-Social where The Rita was performing "his most important set ever." The Rita was given a grant by the Canadian Arts Council to recreate the sound of a motorbike engine using fuzz pedals and other electronics. If anyone read The Rita review I wrote in Discorder a few months back (I wouldn't blame you if you didn't), I compared his sound to a jet engine being revved. It's kinda nice to know that I was actually on to something. Anyways, the set started off with The Rita dialing in the electronics until they blended together to create a sharp, sputtering engine-like wall of noise. After that, The Rita hooked up contact mics to a motorbike engine, layered it with electronics, and, effectively, re-created his own sound using the engine. The location of the show (the small, cement backroom of Anti-Social) was the perfect spot, as maximum volume combined with the small confines melded together to create a full-body experience.

Seagull followed up with an amusing set where he flung around a supposedly malfunctioning microphone while a heavy blast of harsh noise enveloped the room. Great set from a burgeoning local noise talent. Check out his Wire/Byron Coley, Mimaroglu, Aquarius approved label, Ketchup Cavern.

Another local noise act, Taskmaster, followed with an unflinching tidal wave of brutal electronics. Very similar in vibe to The Rita.

Sick Buildings ended off the night and also had the last laugh. The set was composed of two tapes; one that had recorded crowd noise during the night and the other used to record snippets of the three previous acts. The effect was a disorienting, yet hilarious assault on the already bludgeoned crowd. As you can probably see from the photo below, Sick Buildings simply played the tapes and left the room, returning only once to grab his beer. Another great set from the ever-inventive Sick Buildings.

We quickly headed down to The Cobalt to check out Shearing Pinx and Twin Crystals (two local faves, in case you weren't paying attention) but only got there in time to see the last half of the SHPX show. Twin Crystals, for whatever reason, didn't play that night. Instead the crowd was treated with the return of Adjective (they haven't played since Music Waste) and the overrated Japandroids. Adjective were pretty sloppy and probably could have used a few more practices before heading back to the stage after a long hiatus. There is real potential in the band and I haven't written them off yet. Japandroids, who I have seen several times, failed to impress me, once again. Don't get me wrong, the two-piece is tight, they just don't do a damn thing for me and probably never will.

See you at the GZA tonight!

The Rita

Seagull

Taskmaster

Sick Buildings

Shearing Pinx