31 Knots, The Americas & The Red Robot

Thursday night’s show at Moxie’s proved to be another example of big talent at close range. Starting off the show was The Red Robot, a four-piece rock band from Redding, California. They ignited the night with a fast and noisy approach, bouncing around on stage in an indie rock epileptic seizure. Guitarists and vocalists Tatton White and Matt Calderon showed mad ADD skills as they harmonized on guitars while dancing and screaming into their mics, keeping up with the energetic pace of their drummer, Noah Prado. The Red Robot managed to have the most hardcore rock moment I have seen in Chico, CA. Tatton White, while wailing on his guitar, broke a string, so he threw down his instrument and danced us a little punk rock jig. After the song he ran offstage to the bathroom where the rumor quickly started that a metal string snapped off his guitar and went entirely through his finger. Fact?…or newest Chico urban legend? Regardless, White was back on stage in minutes to finish the show. Once warmed up (and bandaged up) The Red Robot, slowed down with some soft and harmonizing vocals that proved these boys could do a whole lot more than bang and scream. Adam Prado pulled out some catchy baselines to accompany the band’s driving tempo and extreme decibels. Besides a little sloppy guitar work at times, The Red Robot put together a solid set, proving there is much more to Redding culture than rednecks and republicans.
Next up were The Americas, who hit even harder with their post-metal noise groove. This two-piece band that sounded more like four, gave a powerhouse performance as only heavy rock can do. Casey Deitz on drums was out of control with some of the fastest hardest beats I’ve seen live. Travis Wuerthner kept up beautifully with rowdy singing and hard guitar anthems. The Americas blast you with sound the way the ocean crashes against rocks. This Chico band soaks you to the bone and leaves you wanting more!
31 Knots, the headliner of the show, blasted off with their first song, “E for Alpha,” and held the Moxie’s crowd in that bizarre, emo/indie rock state of bliss throughout their entire set. These Portland, Oregon, rockers produced a surprisingly clean and intricate sound for a live show. I could actually hear most of lead vocalist and guitarist Joe Haege’s words as he sang. This was a treat because he had a voice with a lot of range considering the genre of music 31 Knots plays. The sound of this three-piece indie band would get funky and even a little jazzy at times. A lot of the funky sound came from bassist, Jay Winebrenner, whose permanent grin and liquidy dance moves made the band a fun spectacle. My favorite song in their set, “Amateur idiot,” was all instrumental as they got in the audience’s face and mouthed “invisible words” to their new Chico fans. 31 Knots’ music was loud and speedy one moment then drifted into a softer, somber sound the next, lulling the crowd into loving them.
– Mark “The Zebra” Thomas
– Photo by Peter Kimmich

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