Fubar, St. Petersburg, FL
Thursday March 8th, 2012
In the land of the rising sun, shows sometimes end by 9pm or so, to
allow time for other activities afterwards. So it is perhaps fitting
that this evening of dark, distinctly non-rising-sun music should start
as late as 9:30. Openers Old Soul (who
are up past their bedtime if they think that name really describes
them) are on tour from Michigan. They play black metal-tinged screamo
complete with loud and quiet parts, across a selection of songs with one
word titles like Forest. I only caught a couple of them, so either
they started early to help move things along or the time allotment was
just the price they had to pay for being added to the bill last minute.
They recently released a record, Who are Willing to Draw Close, the
second part of a concept album.
Before the next act, a man comes up to me talking with a Grateful
Dead attititude and what he calls an Oliver Twist accent. This proved
to be coincidental. When Flying Snakes begin
performing, it’s obvious that These Arms Are Not Snakes but canvases
for tattoos, and one display appears to be of Big Ben or some similar
clock. Their arms are also used to play brilliant rhythmic heaviness, a
mixture of sludge and punk. The band only come to a full stop at one
point in the set, and the only thing close to a gimmick is when a sound
almost like a siren is heard. But it was probably just more guitar.
Screenshots from the upcoming Doom 4 game were leaked online
a few weeks ago, showing scenes of a post-hell nightmare on Earth. The
sight of Virginia doom metal band Windhand is
thankfully a lot more pleasant. First, vocalist Dorthia is
single-handedly representing female musicianship here on this
International Women’s Day. Second, bassist Nathan is wearing a white Mr
Bungle t-shirt, and looking refreshingly un-the-part. Their driving
sound is really cool and a welcome change of pace, until two apparently
amusing fuck-ups (equipment?), the second of which leads to their early
exit.
As if to make up for gained time, set and setting spend a long period setting up.
Aha. Anyway, during this lull a huge crowd builds, and by the time the
set (groan) is going Fubar is basically wall-to-wall with people. I
say going, because their particular style of Mogwai, Day For Airstrikes,
et al instrumental ambience is so politely woven into the evening that I
barely noticed they had started before being entranced (a loud cheer
from the audience was the tip-off). The subtle build-up of intensity
always makes bands such as this one seem intelligent, so it’s only right
that set and setting have taken the misunderstood poster-child for
stupid musicians — the drummer — and given him a twin. (The group does
feature literal siblings, but only one is a drummer). Actually, they so
believe in the potential of the stick-bearer that there are two and a
half of them. A guy is sitting on the stage by the wall, occasionally
hitting a cymbol, though whether the sitting or the hitting is
incidental isn’t all that clear. There comes a point where the
connection to the other acts on the bill is more obvious, as some in the
crowd are overtaken with headbanging desires and dual guitars. The
influence of pairs next leads set and setting to perform two encores,
which also reach heavy heights. At 1am perhaps it’s a bridge too far,
but as tonight is the start of a 36 day tour, going big is
understandable. The sun may set, but it will rise again tomorrow!
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