pacificlectic : concert reviews & eclectic music news

I saw Holy Fuck last night at Southgate House. They were opening up for 31Knots (a sort of punk band), but I didn’t stick around for 31Knots’ set.

Holy Fuck put on a great set. Say what you will about their potentially unfortunate moniker, they really master their art. They play groove-oriented, experimental post-rock (like a louder, vocal-less Sigur Rós meets a groovier Mogwai). This show was a one-off, as their tour with fellow post-rockers Do Make Say Think didn’t have anything scheduled. They played about an hour, and it was jammed packed in the Southgate Parlour. I was the first one there and caught some of their soundcheck… drinking a Guinness sitting amongst their gear and a box of t-shirts. After soundcheck, their “leader” (I think his name was Brian) chatted with me for a bit… how I heard about them, etc. After oogling their newly arrived vinyl, they started playing their opening set. By the end of the show, there were probably 20 people there. And for a SgHouse Parlour show on a Sunday night, 20 people ain’t a bad crowd.

The band set-up… drummer, bassist, and 2 keyboardists. The keyboardists play everything from keyboards, to electronics devices, to 35mm film audio editing equipment (scratch-like), to toy mouth-pianos, to drum machines… it was wild. It’s very much like a live electronica experience. Gadgets and gizmos and a good groove.

Anyway, I loved LOVED loved their set. Way better than on record, but their new record (the Holy Fuck -EP-) gives a great taste of their new groovier direction (the precursor Holy Fuck -LP- was more experimental and drummy).

Holy Fuck = Reco-fucka-mmended.

Their webpage: http://www.holyfuckmusic.com/

~Dan