By Andrew Bansal
November 13th 2013, Almost Holden Collective, Santa Monica CA: Portland, Oregon sludgemongers The Body ended a run of North American dates with a gig at Almost Holden Collective in Santa Monica, a rehearsal space, recording studio and art gallery all combined into one. Put on and promoted by Crash The Clubs and Cvlt Nation, the show also featured Los Angeles-based bands Harassor, White Dove, Doses and Public Confession in a very intriguingly diverse lineup. This was my first ever time seeing a show not only at this venue but in the city of Santa Monica, and except for Harassor I had never seen any of these bands before either, so for the most part, I didn’t quite know what to expect but as I’m always up for an adventure, I decided to check out this show in the hope of discovering some great live bands in a setting that was entirely unfamiliar to me.
Upon arriving at around 8 PM, I noticed three very comfortable couches placed out front of AHC to provide refuge to those who got tired of standing during the show. Once I entered, I found myself pleasantly surprised by the kind of prices this venue had for various items. Water was available for $1, soda for $2, beer for a mere $3, and even popcorn, in small and big sizes for $1 and $2. But most important of all was the availability of earplugs for $1 a pair, because this tiny room got extremely loud when the bands played. There was no stage or PA as such, but the live music was setup in the hallway/art gallery section of AHC. The turnout was decent even at this point of the evening, and the show was ready to begin at 9 o’ clock.
Public Confession was the first band to perform, and this local quartet played a 20-minute set of music that I would describe as a blend of black metal, d-beat punk and a few other elements. Except for the drummer, the members of this band concealed most of their faces, leaving only the eyes exposed. It was a very grim, ominous vibe created by them, and their vocalist made room for himself even in this very confined space by rummaging through the first couple of rows of this audience. More than anything, the band held everyone’s attention because of the freakish intensity in the eyes of the vocalist as he stared down directly at some of the people’s faces. It was certainly an interesting start to the show.
Visit Public Confession on the web at:
publicconfession.bandcamp.com
Next up was Doses, a very weird two-piece act, the kind I had never witnessed before, consisting only of a vocalist and a bassist, with the drum beats coming through in the form of samples. It was a very low-end, almost industrial/dance type sound and in many ways I thought of it as a stripped-down Killing Joke. I’ll give them credit for finding a unique manner to convey their musical expression, even though I can’t say I’m fully able to understand or appreciate it.
The vibe changed completely when the following band White Dove began their set. This female-fronted trio played a set of psychedelic, dreamy tunes that provided a complete anti-thesis to any of the other bands in this lineup. The low-end fuzz of the two opening acts was replaced by clean melodic guitar parts, as each note was allowed to sink in and resonate until its last breath. I personally appreciated this refreshing change-up and highly enjoyed White Dove’s set, but it seemed like quite a few people in the audience weren’t finding it to be their cup of tea. They decided to ruin it for those who were trying to listen to the band by talk loudly amongst themselves instead of just stepping out front or going to the patio, which did have a negative affect on the atmosphere White Dove were trying to create. But other than that, I’m glad the promoters slotted White Dove as the ‘half-time band’ for this show.
Visit White Dove on the web at:
whitedovela.com
facebook.com/whitedovela
twitter.com/whitedovela
Next up was Harassor, who clearly drew more people to this show than anyone else, as the room was packed to its capacity with nearly 50 people during Harassor’s set, the most it had at any point last night. Frontman Pete Majors varies his on-stage act from show to show nowadays, and he doesn’t do the facial make-up and stage blood all the time. On this occasion, he had indeed put on his full act, much to the delight of fans who had come here specifically to see only Harassor. The band sounded menacingly fantastic with their brand of extreme metal, and turned out to be the most ‘accessible’ band of the night, perhaps the only band every single person in the audience enjoyed. The newer songs had a very different vibe to them with more of Harassor’s doom metal influences shining through, but they lent diversity to the set and prevented it from sounding monotonous, as was the case with some of the past Harassor shows I had seen three years ago. This was an excellent Harassor set, in every sense.
Visit Harassor on the web at:
facebook.com/harassorband
twitter.com/doomdeath
instagram.com/doomdeath
A few of the Harassor-only crowd left after their set, but there were still a decent number of people who stayed, as finally The Body began their devastating onslaught upon them with their earth-shaking sludge. And I’m not exaggerating when I say that. The room literally felt like it was undergoing an earthquake. The lightbulbs on the venue’s ceiling started flickering wildly as The Body kept turing the volume of their amplification further and further upwards. Even as the walls were shaking under the impact of this bottom-end massacre, some people stood right up front and close to the band to feel the entirety of the sound. As for me, I love sludge metal, a lot, but I couldn’t find myself to appreciate The Body’s music, as it was devoid of any kind of melody because of the guitar being completely washed away by the low end. With that said, I can definitely see why they have a fan-following in the underground, specially amongst supporters of sludge.
Overall, this was an extremely intriguing show and I enjoyed the DIY setting of the AHC. The turnaround time between bands is often the biggest weakness of such shows, but this particular one was a welcome exception as five bands each played sufficiently long sets within a total duration of less than four hours. Props to Crash The Clubs, Cvlt Nation and AHC for a successful gig.