Sumac, Jaye Jayle & Sad Vicious Perform At Complex

Review by Andrew Bansal

sumac_complex

May 29th 2016, Complex, Glendale CA: Based out of the Pacific North West and formed in 2014, Sumac is a power trio/supergroup featuring the talents of Aaron Turner (Mamiffer, Old Man Gloom, Isis) on guitar and vocals, Brian Cook (Russian Circles, Botch, These Arms Are Snakes) on bass and Nick Yacyshyn (Baptists) on drums. Sumac recently concluded a short U.S. West Coast headlining run in the lead-up to the June 10 2016 release of their sophomore LP ‘What One Becomes’ via Thrill Jockey Records, and visited the Los Angeles area to play in front of a packed house at Complex in Glendale on Sunday May 29th, with opening acts Jaye Jayle and Sad Vicious, for a gig put together by Church Of The 8th Day.

Sad Vicious (photo by Jay Valena)
Sad Vicious (photo by Jay Valena)

Doors opened at 8 and at 9:20, San Jose-based duo Sad Vicious took the stage for a novelty/comedy act that thoroughly entertained the audience and took everyone by surprise. No one in attendance expected this kind of opening act for a band like Sumac, but those that turned up early enough to see this band certainly did not regret doing so. With a combination of stripped-down guitar-vocal rock, stand-up routines and direct interaction with the crowd, Sad Vicious left an indelible impact on one and all, and won’t be easily forgotten.

Jaye Jayle (photo by Jay Valena)
Jaye Jayle (photo by Jay Valena)

Next up was Louisville KY based group Jaye Jayle who changed the vibe completely from that of Sad Vicious, to such an extent that there couldn’t possibly have been a greater contrast between two bands that played one after another. Using clamp lights on their microphone stands to illuminate themselves and asking the house stage lights to be turned off, Jaye Jayle started by creating a unique visual setting to perform in, and proceeded on to play a set of dark, tense, dreamy, melancholic tunes that held the audience’s undivided attention and garnered generous applause.

Sumac (photo by Jay Valena)
Sumac (photo by Jay Valena)

And lastly, Sumac took the stage for a devastating onslaught of unabated, dissonant heaviness. By this time, Complex was completely packed and officially sold out, and there wasn’t an inch of floor space to be found anywhere. Fans of Sumac, as well as fans of the bands the members of Sumac come from, turned up here in large numbers to support and enjoy a powerful performance by frontman Aaron Turner and his band mates. Technical issues delayed things for several minutes a little while after they began, but that didn’t deter the band or the audience from sticking it out for the entirety of the set. The sheer monstrosity of the instrumentation that decorates Sumac’s music was clearly felt by those in attendance, and Turner’s low-pitched growls fronted the musicianship with perfection. Sumac played tunes off of the new album ‘What One Becomes’ as well as the debut LP ‘The Deal’, and treated the audience to a glorious slab of experimental black/death/doom metal. Sumac presents a skillful combination of brute force and finesse, and is not only worth listening to for all readers on this site, but is even more essential as a band that needs to be experienced live.

All in all, a wildly diverse but typically successful evening at the home of underground music in Southern California.

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More Sumac photos (by Andrew Hernandez):

More Sumac photos (by Matt Nielson):

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