By Andrew Bansal
October 28th 2015, The Viper Room, West Hollywood CA: In the early 1970s, while the world of music was heralding the British invasion, there was an American band that also pioneered the proto doom metal sound. Based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Bang released three albums in the early 70s and are considered as influential figures in the genre, at least by those in the underground. After four decades in the wilderness, Bang reunited in early 2014 with two of its original members Frank Ferrara (bass and vocals) and Frank Gilcken (guitar), and Jake Leger on drums. As part of a California mini-tour, Bang returned to the Sunset Strip for their first show since their gig at the Whisky in 1973. They headlined the Viper Room last Wednesday October 28th 2015 with support acts Black Bombaim and The Great Electric Quest, for an event put together by Thief Presents and Reason 666 Presents.
This was a rare event at the Viper Room, with no local bands whatsoever, and it was a refreshing anamoly, as this one was devoid of the often suffocating negative aspects of the local rock scene. Even with the newly enforced ‘no ins and outs’ rule here, which regulars are still having a hard time getting used to, it was an extremely pleasant and chilled-out evening with the attendees’ focus on nothing other than the live music. First up, San Diego quartet The Great Electric Quest took the stage to start proceedings with 30 minutes of heavy rock jams, ending with a cover of Judas Priest’s ‘Victim Of Changes’. These guys are part of a rising community of noteworthy San Diego-based rock/metal bands and rocked the Five Star Bar for a show Metal Assault recently reviewed. They are an apt choice as opening act for the Bang / Black Bombain tour, and they proved as much with their performance here.
Next up were Portuguese instrumental psych rock trio Black Bombaim, clearly not portraying a very rock ‘n roll image with the two members in the foreground both wearing striped polo shirts, and facing either their shoes or each other through the entire set, with no microphone stands set up on stage. They had absolutely zero interaction with the crowd, but they let the music do all of the talking, and even though their tunes came across as repetitive at first, there was a clear buildup within the set as a whole, and it certainly got better and more exciting towards its latter half. It was the kind of set that you had to stay for the entirety of to understand and appreciate, and it had that compelling quality that made me, for one, stay out of pure curiosity towards discovering where it was leading. Black Bombaim’s exhibition of shoegaze psych rock was fascinating in its own unique manner.
And finally, Bang hit the stage at around 11:20 for a set that lasted about an hour, comprising almost all of the old tunes the diehards in attendance were so visibly excited for. Four decades of absence is an incredibly large amount of time, longer than the total existence of several bands and entire genres of music, but Bang performed as if they’d been doing it every day since 1971, putting forth the most effortlessly powerful performance one would ever see. The vocals were excellent, the instrumental layers were all in perfect syncronicity with each other, and these songs from the early ’70s were truly brought to life in a manner that made them seem as relevant today as anything else currently representing the stoner/doom/psych genre.
The magnitude of this historic occasion perhaps can never be truly measured, because Bang’s music pre-dates the rock ‘n roll heyday of the Sunset Strip, and to witness it here at the Viper Room was special to say the least. It was a small audience but every single person was seen losing his or her mind throughout the set, as heads were banging full tilt and every song was followed by loud cheers. Aside from the wonderful efforts of the two Franks on guitar, bass and vocals, drummer Jake Leger, much younger in age than his band mates, did full justice to these tunes and proved himself as an integral component of the group. While many stoner/doom bands from the ’80s, ’90s and onwards are now making comebacks and announcing reunions because of the resurgence in popularity of the sub-genre, Bang’s return is certainly one that no one would or should complain about. The Viper Room played host to a very religious experience last Wednesday night, and even though they’d probably still be playing 42 years from now, one hopes that Bang wouldn’t take as long for their next LA gig.
Set List:
01. Keep On
02. Redman
03. Slow Down
04. Come With Me
05. The Maze
06. Windfair
07. Last Will And Testament
08. Our Home
09. Humble
10. Lions, Christians / Future Shock
11. Idealist/Realist
12. Questions
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