By Andrew Bansal
July 25th 2015, Complex, Glendale CA: Chicago-based instrumental doom quartet Bongripper certainly are the most prolific band in the genre, having released as many as seven full-length studio albums in a career span that currently stands at ten years. But during all this time, they never made it to California for live shows. Much to the delight of their eagerly awaiting California fan base, that changed last week as they did a three-show run through the state. This was the ‘Way Of The Shred’ tour, presented by Thief, the organizers of such stoner/doom/sludge pilgrimages as Psycho California and Night/Day Of The Shred. The Los Angeles area show of this tour was at Complex in Glendale, also featuring local openers Goya and Yidhra, and put together by Thief in association with local promotion machine Church Of The 8th Day.
As stellar as the lineup of opening acts was, I had to miss them due to other commitments earlier on the same evening. But you can watch videos of the Yidhra and Goya sets below, thanks to Arturo Gallegos:
Yidhra (Part 1)
Yidhra (Part 2)
Goya:
I arrived at around midnight, just in time for the start of Bongripper’s set. The place was absolutely packed, even with a justifiably higher than usual day-of-show ticket price of $20. Bongripper fans as well as followers of the genre were all in attendance. Beards, beers and blunts were ruling the land. Bongripper delved into a ritual that held the audience in a trance. There were long passages of patterns revolving around singular riffs, but some point of the set also presented progressive variations. To first-timers it would sound largely repetitive, but that’s one trait of doom metal that separates it from the rest, definitely a love-or-hate type of quality. But the one aspect most in favor of Bongripper is them being instrumental, which amplifies every single note to a much greater degree and really allows the listener to soak it in.
Chicago has been one of America’s finest heavy music factories in recent years, and Bongripper succeed in staying true to the the city’s reputation of musical creativity. They played an hour-long set and garnered tremendous applause from the crowd. This will most certainly not be a one-off for them in Los Angeles, and their next show in this area will not take anywhere near as many years as this one did.
Besides vindicating the quality of Bongripper’s heavy worship, the supreme turnout for this show and the undivided interest of the audience, as nearly everyone with slowly bobbing heads stayed glued to their spots for the entirety of the performance, showcases the popularity of doom in the present day. In the realm of heavy music, doom is the new pop.
An excellent evening of bongripping heaviness.
To watch video of Bongripper’s set and for many more videos, check out Arturo Gallegos’ YouTube channel.