31knots, The Americas, The Mercy Mile & Oddman

There was an unusual show at The Senator Theatre last Wednesday. In fact the only thing that wasn’t odd about the concert was its 45-minute-late start time, the sub-freezing temperature inside the theatre and the caliber of the evening’s music. Although the bands were performing on the main stage, they were faced sideways towards stage left. Most of the audience opted to stand on the stage as DNA (the Senator’s Artistic Director) informed them that there was a better view from up there.
First up for the evening was a set from surprise guest Oddman, performing under the pseudonym Swinging Jesus and the something or others – I couldn’t exactly make out what they said. The side-view vantage point that I had chosen proved interesting. Like lines on a battlefield, the band members continuously moved back and forth in a fight for the biggest stage presence. It kind of resembled watching a half court basketball game. With the krunkle of bass, barrage of super-sludgy / chunky guitars, relentless assault of drums and vocal rants and growls, Oddman gave a wonderful performance. I’m not a big fan of hardcore music on CD, but it really makes sense live — the energy and expression come through when you witness the music in person. Unfortunately regardless of their great performance I felt they were out of place on this particular bill.
The Mercy Mile took the stage next with a shaky start. I couldn’t tell if they were drunk or what, but their mocking cover of “Free Falling” was annoying and went on far too long. Their sound was typical of the indie-punk-emo variety; droning guitar notes, loud / soft dynamic changes, segmentary songwriting and off-key, yet passionate vocals. Their first song wasn’t very tight performance-wise or writing-wise; it seemed to go on forever with little development of the individual pieces, and the bass and drums didn’t sync up well. Luckily the rest of their set shaped up with jangling guitars, a mesh web of tones, drum machine and energetic performance. They weren’t that bad, but it would do them justice if they put more practice in.
I’ve seen The Americas play many times before and this performance was my favorite, hands down. Their songwriting has always been really interesting and unique, and their musical skills are always fantastic and now it looks like their song to song flow has improved greatly as well. They’re musical dynamite. Explosive and staggering, it’s hard to believe that they’re a duo. The guitar tone was thick with a heavy low end, easily covering the musical space typically held by the bass. Casey Deitz may be my favorite drummer in town; he’s certainly the most powerful. In this particular band his instrument holds more of a role in the music. With long pauses, experimental valleys, exquisite use of dynamics and emotive vocals, their songs stop on a dime and absolutely knock the wind out of you. If you haven’t already seen this band, do yourself a favor.
As 31knots began their intricate and fantastic music, I couldn’t help but notice that the guitar of choice for the evening was the Gibson SG (every band except The Americas played one). There’s something sinister and majestic about those types of guitars, for me they embody rock ‘n’ roll. From my view in the back of the audience, the only thing I could make out was that SG headstock swirling above the heads of the remaining crowd. I was surprised at the amount of people who left before the headliner…those fools. Although it was colder than a witch’s wrinkled titty, the ex-attendees missed out on a fantastic performance. The interplay between the melody and rhythm reminded me of Fugazi, the beats holding as much importance as the notes. The bass was fast and filling with a super meaty tone, while the guitar was static at times, holding odd-sounding chords, then departing into an intricate rhythm / lead style of playing. The drums were excellent, albeit a bit sloppy at times. Although it seemed that this might not have been the band’s best performance ever, the amount of talent and ability displayed by the members was an awesome spectacle to behold. They were still amazing live.
– Maurice S. Teilmann
– Photo by Jeff Shaner

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