Quarterlifeparty

March 23rd 2008

Little did I know that before entering the Ottobar on Sunday night, not really ready to sit through 4 bands that may or may not be good, I would be taking part in some sort of face melting/ strobe light marathon.

The night started out with Thrust Lab since we got to the show a little bit late and were somewhat dreading having to sit through 4 bands, only one of which we really knew anything about (Crystal Castles) and one that we had only heard of vaguely (HEALTH).

Thrust Lab was a pretty impressive local Baltimore band. The bass player was great and kept churning out dancey bass lines, with the singer crooning killers/u2′esque vocals only with a less mainstream approach and more effected. He had a great way of picking when and when not to sing, and knew how to put a good melody over top of the music. They had, overall, a good energy.

Moving right along to HEALTH. This was an intense performance. I have never heard a noise band play live and have everything be orchestrated so well without it coming off as too contrived. A lot of times I sat there wondering how they were pulling it off, they were incredibly tight with the quick change-ups and direction in sound. The two drummers, one with a full set and one with a pair of toms, were exactly synchronized and on point. The main drummer was incredible and I doubt this band could pull this off without a drummer like that, not to take anything away from the rest of the band because they were great as well, but the drummer was absolutely insane. With Joy Division like singing at occasional points in the noise, crunchy guitars and spacey sound effects, there was always something to be watching or listening to. You felt like you were at some strange tribal cult face melting ritual. After the band finished their set, and the audiences collective faces were melted, I was doubtful that Crystal Castles could follow that.

Let me first note that whoever put this line-up together had it right. The intensity of each performance grew as the night went on, and the bands music just seemed to fit well together without having to listen to the same EXACT sound over and over again. It was a dark thrashing and danceable night. There was a definite buzz in the air after the HEALTH performance as people awaited Crystal Castles. I had been enjoying their music since middle of last year and have had many instances of thrashing out alone in my apartment (it’s good exercise) The place was packed and we were standing slightly out of the fray.

Strobe lights began flashing, the creepy electronic circa Super Mario Brothers on acid in 1990 began to play and you could see a quick shadow come in from the right of the stage. There were three people on stage, Ethan Kath on synth and Beats, Alice Glass on vocals, and much to my surprise they had a live drummer (which made everything sound even more intense, sorry I don’t have the name). So the drums started up and Alice jumped up from the floor and began going at it performing like a electro-gothic demon. And by going at it, I mean tapping into some sort of primeval dancing gene (think Karen O on speed). Everyone started jumping and we made our way to the front of the stage where we were pretty much lifted off the ground for the next 45 minutes, both physically and mentally.

The music for the most part is simple but it has a great delivery. It has all the typical dance loops and drum clicks that you might hear at any dance-electronic show, but it is completely transformed and raw with the retro video game sounds and the thrashy vocals; really making the sound unique, and it really just makes you want to go nuts. I have never seen one strobe light used to such effectiveness, for I feel like we were watching the entire show in photographic still images flashing in front of my eyes. And Alice just looked intense with each pose as she was almost constantly leaning over the stage into the audience.

The entire set built up in intensity ’til the last song, where everyone was jumping up and down so much that the audience was possibly levitating. I’m not sure exactly which song they played last, but the song kept building into a frenzy. It basically has two alternating parts. One fairly melodic, mellow and atmospheric, the other one completely on the other spectrum: intense and loud. With each interval the audience would simmer down, and the when the second part hit, just start going into “dance seizures”. And with each interval it got more and more intense until it ended and I couldn’t feel my right leg anymore because I think it cramped up a half hour before, was completely soaked in sweat, and felt like I had just won the superbowl or something. It’s music that releases, replenishes, and is probably better than any therapy.

Crystal Castles’ self-titled LP came out last week. Although, if you have been a fan before, you have probably already heard most the songs on it, there are definitely some new ones that I hadn’t heard yet, plus it feels right to hear them all together in an album format. You can listen to the entire album on spinner.com. And (god forbid), you can buy it here.

Also, HEALTH will be back in town on April 5th playing at the new Wham City place.

HEALTH “Triceratops”
Crystal Castles “Alice Practice”
Crystal Castles “Courtship Date”

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Tags: crystal castlesTags: healthTags: live