Tammy and I arrive at Southgate House in Newport, Kentucky about one hour before the doors open. First thing we notice is a sign on the door forbidding flash photography and recording equipment. This sign also states earplugs will be available at the bar. We start a tab at the bar and take in the tone of the house. We notice that there is a lot of fog lingering in the upstairs rooms from what we assume was an earlier sound check and rehersal. We explore a few more of the crevasses we had missed from our first venture to the old house.
We find cases that hold documentation about the house. It was once a mob house that was home to the inventor of the Tommy Gun.
Once the doors opened to the stage downstairs we obtained our tickets and made way to the vendor booth. There I got a neat shirt, but was disappointed because they didn't have the shirt I liked the most in my size. They unfortunately did not have Sunn O)))'s newest album "Monoliths & Dimensions" on vinyl like I hoped they would, either.
After that I stopped off at the bar and obtained a couple of sets of earplugs for us, you know, just in case.
We then went off to find our table for the rest of the evening. We found our table upstairs. It was directly in front of the stage and looked over the floor where the standing crowd would reside for the night. I personally think we had the best seat in the venue.
Eagle Twin took the stage first. They were a simple two piece band with an enormous sound. The set started off with long reverberating guitar chords similar to that of a Sunn O))) studio recording. The drummer (Tyler Smith) proceeded to enter the sonic assault with pounding drums and cymbal crashes a plenty. Next the guitarist/vocalist (Gentry Densley) began his attack with long drawn out growls that blasted through the room. The vocalists long aggressive drawls explained the self proclamation of blues in the description of their sound, as stated on their website. Each lyric seemed to invoke pain from his very soul. The band kept their energy, never loosing steam even with 10 to 15 minute long songs. We did not use our earplugs for this set, though, by the end I was regretting it a little. Through the show I had to hold onto our camera that was on the table as it kept sliding to the edge from the vibration from the sound. Remember, we were up stairs and not even on the main floor. After the band stopped I noticed I was having to speak a little louder to hear my own voice.
Between sets the crew cleaned up Eagle Twin's gear, and replaced it with Sunn O)))'s gear. The only really noticeable change in gear was the removal of the drum kit and a couple guitars that were replaced by a Moog synthesizer. A man also came on stage with what seemed to be a lot of fog juice for fog machines. The guitar tests were loud... I mean very loud. Each single instrument carrying the vibration of the entire Eagle Twin set. Then a few moments of quiet.
The lights then started to dim. A low droning chant started to creep up upon the room. The deep voice started to increase the darker the room became. The machines started to spew out clouds of fog that obscured the stage even further with an occasional hiss that went well with the chanting. This went on for what seemed like 10 to 15 minutes... long enough to totally obscure the stage before the green light came on. Once the light came on we could see a man in a hooded robe with a guitar (Stephen O’Malley). Thankfully we had the foresight to put in our earplugs prior to the first guitar chord. He created a loud roar with his guitar that shook the the very foundation of the house. The initial chords could be felt deep in my chest cavity and echoed through the rest of my body. It was like being hit with giant waves of sound. Even with earplugs the sound was louder than anything achieved during Eagle Twin's set. Leaning back on my chair it felt like a hand held massager at full strength kneading my back. The figure on stage could only be seen in faint, fading glimpses because once his shape would peek out of the fog it would become obstructed again by another obscuring cloud erupting from the fog machine. A few times he could be seen holding his guitar high into the sky like he was channeling power through the sky. After a little while the vocalization returned with another slightly visible, robed figure (Attila Csihar) on stage. The chanting begat growling, which eventually became the most inhuman screaming I have ever witnessed. Much like the guitar it would come in waves. Light deep spoken incantations would turn into vile, unholy curses that would shake the marrow in your very bones. Accompaniment from another guitarist or bassist came sometime during the performance, but I cannot place the exact moment. This other guitarist/bassist (Greg Anderson) and the keyboardist (Stephen Moore) were obscured most in the performance, but the sheer power from their accompanying instruments helped create the most massive wall of sound I ever experienced. During quiet parts of the set the keyboardists low key chiming would come through the hall in tiny echos like shards of broken glass, taunting and tickling the pain left over from the power chords and screams that still reverberated through everyones body. The show went an for at least an hour and a half... maybe even two hours. The band engulfed you in their world. They controlled you during the set, and there was no escaping. The entire set was immersive in a way I have never experienced. Haunted houses that come out around Halloween can only dream of delivering the same spine tingling experiences this band delivers. I had mentioned the inhuman nature of the vocals above briefly, but words really escape the sheer importance of the sentiment. The vocalist growled and screamed like I have never heard man or beast for almost 2 hours. I can not even imagine having the lung or vocal chord capacity of this man. With a few light changes it could be seen the the show was coming to an end. As the long attacks continued to pummel the crowd their hands reached for the sky, some trying to make the (0) logo. The final death screams and power chords slowly faded into silence and darkness. The applause roared from the audience, but a voice came over the loudspeaker barking at the audience, "Go home, you don't need a fucking encore!" The voice was right. We were exhausted and drained. I am sure the band had to be, but it is hard to tell... I am still not sure these robed figures were human. I was thankful to remove my earplugs and not be deaf. I can only define it as a religious experience where I walked away covered in sweat, lungs full of fog and normal sounds swimming in my ears like I had been underwater for hours. Thank you Sunn O)))... it was amazing.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
