My farts have been pretty disgusting over the past few days, the intensity of the stench is really out of character. Pretty eggy, but theres something so pungent deep within the abyss of stink and I just can't put my finger on it... They are so bad that the when I was skating through uni with my friend Chris before the Beards/Nope/In Zaire show, he could smell them when riding about 10 meters behind me. He seemed pretty impressed though so maybe it's not something to be ashamed of after all. I was a little nervous getting into the Packhorse though, but we were there pretty early so I had some time to let a few out before the crowd got any thicker... Strategic farts can be quite challenging, I guess that's one reason to look forward to getting older, it'd be nice to fart on demand like my dad, its a pretty awesome ice-breaker at parties.
Anyway, after I cut one of the biggest farts of the night, Beards started getting ready for their set. It was my second time to see them, the first being at the Birthmark gig, and it's always nice to hear songs I recognise, that way I can get a bit more technical with my moves... And being able to sing a line or two definitely ups my cred on the underground knowledge scale, all you posers can suck it!!
Just kidding.. They started off with spinning coin, the only song I could recognise, and it definitely got the show off to a good start. The Packhorse is a perfect venue for the band, because the close-proximity really gives you a better understanding of the efforts each member puts in to their music. At the Brudenell I was kind of far away, but this time I could see the sweat on their foreheads and feel the fast pace of their breathing. And best of all, I had no fart alarms! I was kinda bummed they didn't play So de do de ku, but it's no big deal. One thing I've come to realise about Beards is that they are a performance band. Their recordings definitely don't give justice to how epic they are live. Check their fuckin myspace already! See that? They've got two shows in February, GET ON THAT SHIT.
After a bit of a break, three-piece 'Nope' got set up and ready to play. After a somewhat slow/building intro song, they started getting into it, the guitarist playing and looping riffs which seemed quite simplistic, something most people could think of in a jam session. However, the addition of another drum set (and drummer) definitely brings the intensity of their sound up. I was drifting in and out of conscious thinking throughout the set, at times getting completely entranced by the repetitiveness of it all. It’s like I became so used to hearing a certain rhythm that it just became engrained in my system, and my body would start to move without me telling it. I found myself pinching my chest at one point, not really sure how my hand ended up there. The climaxes weren't as epic as I'd expected them to be, but seeing as the entire set was one song it made a lot more sense in the long-run. And then it ended. It seemed to take a few moments for people to come-to... I'm not even sure how long they played for, it could’ve been up to 20 minutes.. I have no fuckin idea really. A pretty unique experience for sure.
Then came on 'In Zaire', fortunately most of the building fart pressure had subsided during/after Nope so I had less to worry about. The set up was a typical drum, bass and guitar, and instead of a usual mic set, the frontman had some synth system linked up to the guitar and bass. I could tell after the first minute that this band was in a more left-field spectrum, with an almost experimental jazz beat at times, as if the members were slowly but surely finding the beat amongst themselves. It got pretty hectic at the points of climax; the band definitely used the amps to their full potential. I think overall, the band wasn’t as great as the other two before it, but their performance left me in a strange state of… profundity. I would’ve gladly stood staring into space after they left their instruments had my friend not tapped my shoulder. There was one point where the singer shoved a small microphone into his mouth, blowing and screaming into it, creating a really distant yet magnificent sound. I think part of the fun of going to shows like these though, is that I have little to no idea what to expect from most artists, so there's always an element of hit-and-miss, but I like most bands I hear live so maybe I'm not the best person to judge.
Overall, it was definitely worth it, I was a bit disconcerted at first because I could have easily gone home and revised, but fuck it I’d already paid my 4 pounds. My emotions have been up and down these days anyway so a show is always a good way to take my thoughts elsewhere. To sum it up, Chris made a pretty accurate observation; it was a pretty drum-orientated night. In my opinion all 4 drummers killed it; it got me pretty hyped to skate afterwards. There’s nothing like bombing down Royal Park Road with your ears still ringing from the volume and your sphincters sighing after a much needed fart…
Check out their myspaces:
-Ben
Ben, had no idea you could write like this. Fart descriptions had me in stitches (and you too, I'm guessing). Beards sound pretty so far, will check more of their stuff out.
ReplyDeleteKeep writing big guy.
I realise how late this response is, but thanks for the compliments man, it means/meant a lot
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