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Great American Music Hall October 30th & 31st, 2000 Review by Squid Montreal's Godspeed You Black Emperor! had a buzz strong enough to sell out two nights at the Great American, due largely to well-versed Uberfans like Daz. Our Queen of Sadcore saw them the last time they were in town and hasn't stopped raving about it since. Indeed, maybe it's just the name (allegedly taken from a Japanese motorcycle gang), but GSYBE commands a reverence from people whereby voices get lowered at their mention. Try it in your local record shop. Being their fan is serious business. It's like opera, and Squid's no Wagner fanatic, but you wag a ticket for "Der Ring des Nibelungen" under her nose and she'll snap at it like a Jack Russell. It's eighteen hours long! Who doesn't want to brag to friends that they sat through the three consecutive nights of hardcore Aryan breast-beating and mythological incest? And such is the way with indie rock. As skilled a set of musicians as they are, there is just no doubt in Squid's mind that part of GYSBE's appeal live is surviving their painstaking journeys from silence to outburst, many of them clocking in at over ten minutes. At the beginning of many pieces there's an almost unbearable silence that's challenged only by a single violin and the clattering of the rear screen projector broadcasting supersaturated loops of dismal industrial landscapes...and a few dogs. The ensuing tangle of sound spreads from strings to guitars to, finally, driving drums that take pieces to their final minute. It's somewhere between the Rachel's and The Dirty Three, and it's impressive. As a heathen outsider to their cult, Squid's only wish would be for a departure from the dynamic style that's constantly employed. Perhaps just a single piece of full on noise from start to finish? But she knows that's an oversimplification of what they're aiming to achieve. Daz maintains that they are one of the most perfect things in existence, and made several sexual allusions to their grandure that are simply unrepeatable in this space. It should also be noted that, audience-wise, San Francisco managed to behave itself both nights. Ironically enough, the person responsible for almost ruining Night #2 was in fact a member of the GSYBE posse itself, specifically their merch guy. He must've gotten some prime SF StankWeed, because our boy began screaming and howling like a monkey, only in perfect tune to the melody of several pieces. It was funny momentarily, then annoying, then detrimental, and finally, once we realized this jerk was in the employ of the band, utterly confusing. Even if you're bored with the music, why the fuck would you risk ruining the performance of the people signing your paycheck? Weird. http://www.cstrecords.com/html/godspeed.html http://www.southern.com/southern/band/GDSPD/ http://modernrock.com/reviews/review.php?review=53/index.shtml ©2000 playinginfog.com |