Zechs Marquise and 13 Day Mission @ O Zone Lair - 06-29-08
Monday, June 30, 2008
Read over at Pine Magazine...
http://www.theozonelair.com
http://myspace.com/zechsmarquise
http://myspace.com/13daymission
Where do I even begin? How about with a little background information on how the show came to be in the first place.
A couple of months ago I started trying to find places in Florida for 13DM to play this summer. I saw that they were going to be at Club TSI with Our Name is Legion ( http://www.myspace.com/ournameisduval ) who we were already acquainted with via some online communications. So I started making calls and sending emails to the venue and the band we know to no avail. Finally I got in contact with Zechs booking agent and we started talking, Zechs wanted to stop in Atlanta as the last show on their east coast tour. Unfortunately they would be here on a Sunday. In Georgia, the only way a venue can serve alcohol is if they are also a restaurant. There are very few of those and none of them wanted to host the show. Also in town this weekend was Corndog-o-rama, probably Georgia's biggest local music festival. So I asked if they would do a house show as we have been wanting to hold a show at our house/studio for some time now. They agreed and we made it happen.
Since this was a Sunday and a house show, to me that meant we needed to grill out. So we did :), everyone brought some food and no one went home hungry. There was even a second course of salmon and chicken after the show.
Something else that concerned me, only because I had not met these guys yet, was being able to record their set. Since the whole event was happening in our studio it was only right that we do record. They were very happy about the idea and so we went ahead with micing and recording the whole show. I have to say, it came out GREAT.
This evening, 13 Day Mission included the guitarist from Miles from Pangaea doing sound scapes with his effects pedals as a guest...hopefully he will continue to jam with us like this because the more it has happened, the more awesome it becomes. It was excellent to be able to perform in our rehearsal area. It made for a very comfortable, very intimate performance. After listening to some of the audio that we recorded it sounds like there was a tornado of sonic energy swirling around the room way to loud for any sane person to sit through. Thankfully most of the guests did stay inside and get scorched with the fiery flames of 13DM :) Unfortunately there is no video from the 13DM set...maybe next time.
13DM, minus Dave(Miles from Pangaea, on effects/soundscape) who was in the corner
After we finished, we cleared the way for Zechs to set up their gear. The rain then started pouring down, go figure. After about 30 minutes of waiting we decided it would be best to have everyone help bus stuff inside real fast and get the show on the road. Everyone did help and it was a very smooth, mostly dry process. Once they all had their gear in order it was game on. They immediately fell into the groove and the jams were coming at us with the quickness. Marfred is perfect on bass, he holds the rhythm right on with the kick. His bass cuts through the music just right, and he has a great sense of natural rhythm to work with. Mike on drums is a freaking animal, you can't ask for any more energy than what he gives out. Matthew and Marcos played off each other very well and although I could not hear the guitars so good during the set, but they definitely come through on the recordings and they are killing it. We will be posting that audio after it has been mixed.
ZM, minus Mike(drummer) who was MIA for a while after the show
ZM owning
*all pics by Shanan Williams
Zechs played for almost an hour straight and everyone enjoyed their set. Overall everyone had a great time and it was really good to see all these people come out and support the DIY music scene. Zechs will be back in the fall so stay posted!
- Bret Phillips
Labels: ShowReviews
posted by Conqueror @ 5:00 AM,
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Russian Circles, Daughters, Sorry No Ferrari @ Drunken Unicorn - 06-25-08
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Read over at Pine Magazine...
http://www.myspace.com/russiancircles
http://www.myspace.com/daughters1
http://www.myspace.com/sorrynoferrari
I was getting texts about the show being sold out around 9:50, frightened I left for the Drunken Unicorn and arrived to find out that they were not sold out. Unfortunately I had gotten there as Sorry no Ferrari was on their last song. Sorry no Ferrari always puts on an excellent show so I am sure that it was good. It is also good that they were able to get on this bill. There was a nice turnout and I the crowd seemed to be digging what they were doing.
After their set I grabbed a drink and made my way to the front of the stage for the next band, Daughters. I had only heard of Daughters a few weeks before this show and had only listened to the music on their myspace. I had no idea what I was in for. These guys completely dominated for their entire set. From the first song to the last song the crowd was pummeled with synchronized blasts of sonic energy, freaked out bass lines and guitar riffs, and some massive drumming. Not to mention crazy antics from the singer who apparently is not interested in the social norm called 'clothing'. Standing there in front of all of this, I continued to hear noises coming from stage that I had never heard before...at least not at a show...maybe in a nightmare or a chase scene in a horror film, but definitely not from a band. We were also blessed with a guest appearance by Jeff Worms, who is an amazing guitarist and totally fit in with the Daughters sound. I could not have asked for any more from this band, they delivered and did it with authority.
Daughters
While Russian Circles started getting themselves together on stage for their set, the singer from Daughters made a quick appearance, completely lacking ALL clothing. Thankfully, no one was hurt. Russian Circles turned on their gear, and started playing the show. Note there was no mic on stage for speaking, they just let the music do all the talking. I really enjoy when bands do this because the last thing I want to hear is some necessary banter in between songs, especially from an instrumental band. They started playing without saying a word and the journey began.
Russian Circles is a three piece instrumental band with huge amps and effects boards. The guitarist runs three amps on his own, from what I could tell he had two sets of heads/4x12 cabs, and another combo amp in the mix. I personally love to hear guitar running in stereo, and this was the perfect setup. One 4x12 on the left side of the stage, one on the right side. In the middle was bass and drums. Their music flowed from quiet smooth jams into intense, over driven walls of sound. The guitarist made great use of his loop box, and the rest of the band played along with those loops perfectly. They showed great precision and you can tell these guys play the music they want to play without being hindered by the outside world.
Russian Circles
Definitely a great show and great lineup, anyone that missed this show missed one of the best shows of 2008, and I am sure that comment will stand true until the years end.
- Bret Phillips
Labels: ShowReviews
posted by Conqueror @ 8:07 AM,
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