By Andrew Bansal
May 18th 2013, The Troubadour, West Hollywood CA: Following the release of their sophomore album ‘Meanderthal’, Miami/Gainsville based sludge outfit Torche underwent a lineup change and after a gap of four years, came out with a new album called ‘Harmonicraft’, released on the Volcom Entertainment label. They’ve been doing plenty of touring since the release, and currently they are on their own extended headline run across the United States. The trek made a stop at West Hollywood’s famous Troubadour last night, along with touring support band KEN Mode and one-off local opening act Totimoshi. Having never seen any of these bands before, I went into the show keeping an open mind, not knowing what to expect. For such a premise, the cozy Troubadour promised to be the perfect setting.
The doors opened a few minutes past 8 PM, and there weren’t too many people in line at that point. Even by the time Totimoshi started their set at 8.30, very few were actually inside. But once the band went up on that stage, it didn’t seem to bother them whatsoever, as they delved into their 30-minute set with utmost dedication. Honestly, this Los Angeles-based psychedelic doom rock band somehow slipped under my radar despite having been around since 1997, and last night I totally felt like I missed out on something great all these years. The trio were successfully able to encapsulate and exhibit an entire gamut of musical soundscapes through which they expressed themselves wholly but still conformed to stay within the boundaries of the genre they were embracing. They played what turned out to be probably the most diverse 30-minute set I’ve ever seen. It’s no wonder they’re still a largely underground band, because it’s hard to follow so many different styles and variations all at once. But if you’re looking for weirdness and unpredictability in your rock music, Totimoshi might just be your calling.
Set List:
1. Dance Of Snakes
2. Avenger
3. Mainline
4. The Fool
5. The Whisper
6. Cellophane
7. Waning Divine
Canadian heavy rock band KEN Mode is another group that’s been around for a number of years but for various reasons I didn’t get a chance to listen to their music and kept missing out on their live shows. Well, last night I certainly got my KEN Mode fix, as the band belted out 30 minutes of pure intensity. While seeing them, I was once again reminded for the millionth time to not go by anything on Wikipedia, which describes KEN Mode as noise rock. Although they’re not everyone’s cup of tea and it takes a degree of acquaintance to the style of music for one to appreciate a band like theirs, they’re anything but ‘noise rock’. With that said, their aggression seemed genuine and they were able to channel it well into their music. The drummer played a crucial role in keeping the songs structured. The crowd reaction was getting progressively louder during their set, and at the end of it, vocalist/guitarist Jesse Matthewson kneeled down in front of his monitor and I feared he was going to smash his head into it in a typical hardcore stage act. Thankfully he didn’t, as I’m really not a fan of those types of antics. Great set by KEN Mode. If they keep this level of performance every night, they’re surely winning plenty of new fans on this tour.
facebook.com/kenmode
twitter.com/kenmodenoise
Set List:
1. Counter Culture Complex
2. Obeying the Iron Will
3. Frye
4. No; I’m In Control
5. The Book Of Muscle
6. Seul
7. Secret Vasectomy
8. The Terror Pulse
At 10.30, Torche took the stage and by now the Troubadour was packed with a sizable audience. I was familiar with guitarist/vocalist Steve Brooks through his work with the band Floor whom I saw at the Scion Rock Fest in Pomona in early 2011. But this was a completely different vibe, with the low end significantly more prominent. Both Steve Brooks and Andrew Elstner mixed in copious amounts of fuzz and distortion in their guitar sound, while bassist Jonathan Nuñez really brought the heavy. His bass made the entire Troubadour shake under the vibration it generated. So that was an entirely new experience for me at a metal show. I thought Jason Newsted’s bass was heavy when I saw him earlier this month, but Torche were several times heavier on the low-end.
Their songs followed a similar style and pattern, with that one catchy chorus music piece. In a crowd of this nature, not everyone likes to head-bang. Some like to dance, while others simply jump. The cool and appreciable thing about Torche was, they were able to cater to all varieties of people in this audience with that one catchy chorus that constantly featured throughout their set. Usually, specially in recent shows I’ve enjoyed slower music more, but last night was totally opposite because I actually ended up digging Torche’s faster bits more. I felt too much of the first half of their set was slow for my liking and with that level of low-end, it was getting a bit tedious. But they did change it up later on with those faster parts, and segments with twin guitar melodies albeit briefly. There was one amusing moment as Brooks broke a string on his guitar and even as he sat down on stage to fix it, his band mates continued on and finished the song anyway. I enjoyed his vocals but again there was very little of that as the music was instrumental for the most part.
Based on this show, I certainly would not put Torche in my list of favorite bands, but I’ve got to give it to them for the strength and energy they put into their performance, and the sheer decibel level of it all, making this Troubadour crowd bounce with every single beat.
facebook.com/torcheofficial
twitter.com/torcheband
Set List:
1. Letting Go
2. Kicking
3. Arrowhead
4. Reverse Inverted
5. In Pieces
6. Grenades
7. Healer
8. Harmonicraft
9. Across The Shields
10.Snakes Are Charmed
11.Warship
12.In Return
13.Sky Trials
14.Kiss Me Dudely
15.Rockit
16.Little Champion
17.Without A Sound
18.Out Again
19.Charge Of The Brown Recluse
20.Harmonslaught
21.Tarpit Carnivore