re: strange days #4
Thank you Bar for getting down with thinking and working outside of the box. Thanks to the performers - Peasants With Feathers, The Band In Heaven and Diaz/Lopez-Zareno/Wilcox - for providing worthy spectacles and then some. Thank you Laz for the house records & thank you Kevin for playing Ministry and Favela Booty Beats in the same breath. Big thanks to the dude who requested My War when Negative Approach came on, and the other dude who requested Creedence after we played “Pusherman” from the Easy Rider soundtrack.
All three sets were masterful and each was complete different.
Mr. Feathers achieved a true synchronicity of bombastic, authentic Miami bass and harsh laptop noise (imagine, if you can, a Get Low / Noise Conference ven diagram). “I don’t want to scare people,” he chirped before his set in his signature, soft spoken cosmic cadence. He made the audience work and, in turn, the audience made an offering of their eyes and eardrums as the good doctor (voodoo witch, that is) stood at the helm of the DJ console like an otherworldly overlord granting subjects a brief glimpse of his power. He played for 15 minutes.
The Band In Heaven performed a commanding set to a packed house. Though traveling lighter than your average shoegaze unit (guitar, tambourine, and a sit-in session drummer), their sound and body language (confident, cool) generated a warm, welcome glow. The tone of the guitar and the sweetness of the vocal harmonies contributed to a much appreciated, pleasantly blurry depth. Last night was their Miami debut, and they’ll be back soon so keep up with upcoming performances on their Facebook and Bandcamp (on the latter you can check out tracks from their new cassette with Surfer Blood side project Weird Wives).
Alex Diaz, Eric Lopez-Zareno, & Ed Wilcox haven’t played out since February (Ed splits his time between South Florida and Pennsylvania), but their skillful improvisational dialogue was at full strength. Teepee left the sax at home this time - his weapon of choice for the evening was acoustic guitar, Diaz on electronics, Wilcox on drums, all three on vocals - resulting in a set that was less explicitly “jazz”-sounding than previous outings, but that still embarked on the hallowed journey of jam—->solo—->group crescendo. Never harsh, but usually loud, this unbelievably in-synch power trio led the audience down labyrinthine corridors that moved from mighty wall of sound wash outs to delicate, soulful interludes, right up to the threshold of improvised musical clarity. As a cacophonous jam unfolded, it’s direction and purpose slowly emerged as each member of the group did time as leader, their composite contributions subtly rising to the top until they became movingly distinct: Diaz’s rich, mournful yet life-affirming vocals (often in harmony with Wilcox’s); Lopez-Zareno’s endless supply of hypnotic, raga-tinged riffs, and graceful manipulation of feedback; Wilcox’s perpetual motion drumming, the spiritual backbone of the group’s sonic endeavor. A particularly potent and revealing moment came when Ed reached for his harmonica at the same moment Lopez-Zareno had stumbled upon a delerium inspiring hook, and put the harmonica on hold for a moment to allow the riff some room to stretch. After each climax, the audience roared, the musicians took a breath and soon thereafter the journey began again.
The date for the next Strange Days is TBA, definitely in September (likely the second half). This will be the 5th edition, so expect all of the stops pulled and none of the holds barred. We will keep you posted.
