Kinski, Comets On Fire & Bear Hunter

Despite the widespread ethos that incessant hype and superb touring bands are not enough to salvage our local scene, Thursday night at Riff Raff proved to be a catalyst of sorts for the success of future, slightly experimental shows in Chico. Of course, a night that was to feature a band on the esteemed Sub Pop label should not have been missed, and I wasn’t surprised to see the bar jam packed with familiar faces and curious newcomers. The show’s starting time came and went with nary a mention and provided ample time for patrons to get their proverbial drink on. Bear Hunter opened the evening to an eager, and increasingly inebriated crowd. The layering of synthesizers, intricate guitar strums and fluid bass lines provided by this group left little doubt that their influence on local rock would be a positive one. Though I did have fears of being biased about the band, given the fact that the frontman for Bear Hunter is my editor, Maurice, I was glad that they played an intriguing set of rock tunes.
San Francisco’s Comets On Fire were up next and began what was to be, during the course of the night, an impromptu celebrity look-a-like contest as their lead singer had the closest resemblance to Jesus Christ I had ever seen. The band played a set that was a throwback to late ‘60s acid rock mixed with pure, unadulterated noise. The band’s “noise maker” stood atop the bar and waited for precise moments to instill shrieking tones into the music that ended up being more annoying than anything. Still, the group displayed a ludicrous amount of energy and kept the crowd interested throughout their decidedly short set.
As stated earlier, celebrity look-a-likes were in full effect, and I honestly almost approached the guitar player for Kinski to ask for his autograph and tell him how great a job he did in The Big Lebowski. This guy looked exactly like the infamous “nihilist” from the film, but to my dismay, he was a celebrity of different sorts. The kind of celebrity that isn’t one at all until he plays in Kinski, in Chico and utterly dominates a show full of critical listeners. Kinski leapt onstage to an extremely enthusiastic crowd and began their set of instrumental noise mutations. The lack of vocals was barely noticeable as the group stuck to a formula of tribal, driving drumbeats and delayed guitar feedback that entranced the audience. Usually, encores are reserved for large concerts by larger-than-life bands. Kinski was so well received that they indulged in this practice and played two songs more than they perhaps wanted to. If you missed this show, in the words of Daniel Taylor, “you are a sucka.”

– Ryan Prado
– Photo by Alyssa Starkey

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