pacificlectic : concert reviews & eclectic music news

No photos this time around.  Rock shows aren’t conducive to them unless you have a really good camera, plus last time I was here, the venue wasn’t allowing it.  Anyway, on to the show…

The openers… well, I’m bummed because I only caught the very last song of From Monuments to Masses.  I kinda dug them… they are a three-piece instrumental band and seemed to have a good groove.  The guitars were a little low in the mix, but I could at least hear what was going on.  Torche, on the other hand, was 40 minutes of painful uninterest.  It wasn’t a wall of sound, it was a wall of mud.  And not the good kind of mud that Earth or Sunn 0))) might throw down, but just muddy, sloppy metal.  Bad sound that night, maybe they’re good on record.  They seemed to be having fun, and there were some obvious fans in the crowd.

Dredg came on around 10:45, after what seemed to be a very long sound check.  They seemed to be having some feedback or other issues going on, and it actually caused some minor technical difficulties early in dredg’s set.  Anyway, this Portland show was the very first show of this tour.  They played a handful of tunes from their upcoming record (see album cover below), and they played a great set with song from their other albums as well.

This was officially my first time seeing them live “as a fan. ” The last time I saw them was when they were opening for the Blood Brothers and Coheed & Cambria.  I was blown away enough to get into their music after that show, but for this show I actually knew the words. :)

I had some major respect for Gavin (singer/ lap steel) and Dino (drums/ keyboard), but now I have much more respect for all four members.  Drew (bass) and Mark (guitars) contribute so much to the dredg sound… excellent grooves and guitar that hearkens some of (Radiohead) Jonny Greenwood’s antics.

Setlist:

• Stamp of Origin: Pessimistic (new song)
• I Don’t Know (new song)
• Ireland  (new song)
• Same Ol’ Road
• Of the Room
• Ode to the Sun (a fave of the night)
• Catch Without Arms (a fave of the night)
• R U O K? (new song)
• Saviour (new song)
• Information (new song)
• Bug Eyes
• Sang Real (a fave of the night)
• Jamais Vu
• The Canyon Behind Her
• Down to the Cellar (new song)
• Stamp of Origin: Horizon (new song)
• No Encore

Great show, about 75 minutes… lots of stuff from their upcoming album The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion (due out June 9th).  I bet they would have played longer had it not been for the earlier technical difficulties, but maybe the venue had a midnight curfew.  I got a peek at someone who snagged the setlist; so I think I got most of the correct new songs and placement.  The stuff after “Jamais Vu” was more of a blur, big jam thing.  Overall, the new songs definitely fit with Catch Without Arms and El Cielo.  I’m looking forward to the new record, big time…

The Appropriate Linkage:

• http://www.dredg.com/
• http://www.myspace.com/dredg
• http://www.myspace.com/frommonumentstomasses
• http://www.myspace.com/torche
• http://www.hawthornetheater.com/

~Dan – np: Zu – Carboniferous