A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS
Cardiff Barfly 8 November 2009
One of the drawbacks of partaking in alcohol at a gig is that at some
point I will invariably gravitate towards the merchandising stall
when under the influence. Therefore, apart from a T shirt collection
running into the hundreds, I also have mugs by bands I don't like
(Bloc Party), a stick of rock from Supergrass and an embossed pebble
(I kid you not) from Catatonia. So on entering the Barfly my first
port of call was inevitably the small table selling branded paraphernalia
for tonight's headliners A Place to Bury Strangers. And there in the
mist of various CDs, records and hoodies was the must have-have item
for this season.... a pair of branded ear plugs....for the very reasonable
price of only one of your earth pounds. Little did I realise how useful
they later would become.
I arrived just in time to see support band the JAPANDROIDS. Prior
to attending I noticed that their drummer was called David Prowse,
however I was mildly disappointed to find that it wasn't the actor
who played Darth Vader/Green Cross Code man on drums, but one of a
a duo who hail from Vancouver,British Colombia. Lead singer Brian
King is nothing if not energetic and thrashes around the stage like
some demented muppet, hair flailing in every direction and hammering
his guitar to within an inch of its life. His vocal style contained
a lot whooping mid- number, and whilst I know absolutely nothing of
their musical output, overall I can vouch for their set being raucous
but ultimately pleasing. Indeed their inter-song banter was to be
in stark contrast to the headliners who would shortly arrive. Apparently
Japandroid will be again touring the UK in the new year and should
be checked out if they visit your neighbourhood.
Pix - Patthead
More here
After a short interlude the (perfumed) dry ice machines
went into overdrive with the stage, and half the venue, became submerged
in a dense cloud of fog. Slowly, but surely, silhouettes became visible
as the self acclaimed "Loudest band in New York" A PLACE
TO BURY STRANGERS emerged from the gloom. There's no greetings, no
introductions, no words to the faithful, just the opening salvo in
a sensory bombardment that would last the best part of the next hour.
Each ear shattering song is coupled with flickering projections and
a disconcerting light show that gives the same effect as a sharp punch
to the solar plexus. The cacophony of noise continues unabated with
each number bleeding into the following and therefore making it difficult
to differentiate individual tracks in the wall of sound. However I
was able to pick out "To Fix the Gash in Your Head", "Ocean"
and "In Your Heart", the latter from their new release "Exploding
Head".
Whilst they were not necessarily as loud as I expected, this could
well be more to do with the fact that a lifetime of gig-going could
be making me deaf, as a considerable number of people in the audience
resorted to the afore mentioned ear plugs or just stood there looking
rather absurd with their fingers in their ears. Realistically they
borrow heavily from Jesus and Mary Chain, with elements of New Order
thrown into the mix. At times I wondered if they were trying to recreate
the feel of the Andy Warhol's Factory in the late '60, with the scrambling
of your senses bordering on the hallucinogenic. There was no let up
in their sonic attack and at one point I could physically feel my
clothes vibrate under the onslaught. The latter numbers were played
out to a barrage of strobe lights that no doubt pleased the epileptic
members of the audience. And then in a welter of feedback and reverb
they were gone. No goodbyes. No thank you. Not one word spoken to
the audience all night.
A Place to Bury Strangers. Aloof? Maybe. Loud? Definitely. Worth the
hype? I'll get back to you on that after my ears stop ringing!
Bones
http://www.myspace.com/aplacetoburystrangers
