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Mayor, Lightning Over Water,
In Praise of Folly
Red Eyed Fly, Wed Oct 29, 2003
The Red Eye hosted an exceptional show Wednesday evening.
The night kicked off with In Praise of Folly, a hardcore/metal
outfit that tumultuously rocked with dynamic song structures
and a bristling cauldron of screams and pleas. Although their
set was a bit short, the music shifted between pre-war drum
marches of hatred and angst to an all out Slayer-esque death
plea, complete with the lead singer crying and sweating into
the mic amongst the sharp and shift rants of his fellow band
mates. I was smiling and giggling--that’s what I do
when I’m really impressed by a band. During the last
tune, the front man leaped into the sizeable group standing
in front of the stage and started a mosh-pit himself. His
final lyrics where something along the lines of “…would
you please hold onto my hatred…I’ll trade this
war for my hatred.” Sweet. Thumbs up to these kids,
especially if you like emotional hardcore (but beware, Games
and Theory are coming!)
The Austin Chronicle put Explosions in the Sky on the front
of their precious publication a couple issues ago. Hopefully
the members of that band and Mr. Chamy have got to check out
Lightning Over Water. In the same vein as Mogwai, Godspeed
You! Black Emperor and Explosions, L.O.W. drenched the crowd
with a haunting and chilling ride of instrumental melodicism
that shifted soundscapes with unique and embracing psychedelic
fervors. I was really digging the young woman playing the
theramin, an instrument from the 60’s that was often
used by the Beach Boys and for cheesy sound manipulations
in classic horror flicks. This thing is really mind-blowing,
like a virtual reality instrument of sorts. You hold your
hands in mid air between this oblong box-shaped piece of equipment
with metallic prongs and antennae—manipulating the sound
with simple movements of both hands. It was incredible and
I was shocked that I’d never seen or heard of such a
remarkable invention. She played it like a praying mantis
or a programmed robot—often focusing her beautiful eyes
upon a spot on the stage, keeping them there for extended
periods of time—it was really sexy. The overall sound
was full, sincere and appealing with an uncanny cerebral bliss—yummy.
Headlining was Mayor, a four-piece rock outfit that didn’t
exactly hold up to my expectations or the demo that I had
heard. Their recording was crafty and loud, comparable to
stoner-rock stallions Queens of the Stone Age. However, the
live show was a series of new tunes that I wasn’t exactly
nodding my head to. The first tune had a metal feel, while
the vocals were similar to Mike Patton-esque rapping. The
set continued with more riff-rock and a cluster of desperate
yells and screams. The band members were into their own stuff,
had great stage presence and a sizeable crowd, but I wasn’t
into their brand of melodic twists and turns. The performance
was mediocre compared to the prior two bands. Someone in the
crowd said something along the lines of their older stuff
sounding a lot better—I’d never seen them before
but would probably have to agree. -Smitty
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