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June 26, 2006
Swarm Coverage! - Liars/Apes @ Hi-Dive, Denver, CO 6.13.06
Denver’s Hi-Dive music club hosted an unofficial avant-garde rock night recently with a twin bill of the Apes, and Liars. Like the hyphenated genre descriptor alludes, the show wasn’t for everyone. Check out the previous post by Jeff for his review of the weekend Brooklyn show. Contrasting Rocky Mtn & NYC reviews and you'll learn that New York has more freaks.
The Apes
Washington DC’s the Apes opened up with a set of music that I can only describe as experimental thrash funk. Walkabout bass lines and heavy down beats provided stability for singer Breck Brunson’s channeling of dead sixties rockers as well as anchoring the fuzzed out sonic dirtying of the soaring organ. Said keys helmed by Amanda Kleinman who happens to look like a twelve year old girl. The sight of such an innocent looking girl sharing a stage, as well as contributing to this machine of sound was throwing me off, but not enough to turn me off. All in all a good primer for what was about to be unleashed by the Liars.
Angus Andrew
The Liars are not for everyone. Challenging, difficult for sure. I first saw the Liars at the 2002 Siren festival in Coney Island. This was a day of discovery that concluded with newfound fandom towards the fantasticness of the Shins, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. (It was perhaps an early step in the gestation of the modern day Merry Swankster.) Needless to say I deduced that the Liars brand of merrymaking (no relation) by way of processed noise and trashing sounds from toy keyboards was not my cup of tea. So now that my personal history with the Liars is understood, I can tell you that I doubt They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top will ever be spun enthusiastically on my hi-fi.
Prior to the Hi-Dive show, I repeatedly filed disclaimers to my show companion that she wouldn’t like the band. Forewarning, "Its gonna be loud, weird, and I won’t be surprised if your ears start bleeding." It really couldn’t have been further from the poppy approachability of the Boy Least Likely To show in Boulder. Still we went with an open mind.
The freakishly high stature of Angus Andrew perched on a three foot stage is an intimidating sight, more so as he looks like a taller Gibby Haynes. Add the screeches and polyrhythmic drumming and a lesser, more sensitive man would be ruined by crippling nightmares. This same man would most likely suffer from a pre-existing Napoleonic complex.
The challenge in a Liars performance is to look past the immediate jumble of free form noise. Its easy to think, “Ouch it hurts so bad…what the fuck are they doing?” But if you listen (and watch) closely you'll see that just because it doesn’t appear to be the standard 'verse – chorus – verse' structure doesn’t mean the arrangements are compromised or thrown together haphazardly. That is to say at random, something about arming ten thousand monkeys with guitars and having them compose Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.
In many ways the Liars tear down conventions and rebuild on their own terms. Truly experimenting with music to find new ways to execute the established constructs. Which is why I reckon a quote like this makes so much sense after taking in some Liars:
"This time around, the challenge was to really try and simplify and be a bit more traditional, which is something a lot of people wouldn't expect. But for me it's more difficult to make a song than it is to make noise." – Angus on Drum’s Not Dead
Again, not for everyone, but the percussion showcase of Drum’s Not Dead adapted for the live stage is far from uninteresting. Piloted by the Liars, who by reinvention and moniker, deceive every expectation. As for the Angus-tall drunken maniac who was compelled to mosh and spread his douchebaggery by hitting people and screaming like a fool in my ear, fuck you.
//Liars - site
//Liars - Drum's Not Dead - buy
//Apes - site
Previously: MS Q1: 2006 Podcast, MS Pick - Liars - Drum's Not Dead, MS Daily Picks - Williamsburg forever!
Tags: Liars, The Apes, Drum's Not Dead, Angus Andrew, Hi-Dive
Posted by Merry Swankster at June 26, 2006 11:45 AM
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Comments
The Apes were good. I liked there punkish groove. The Liars, a totally different story. The show was engaging. Engaging to my insides. I felt like shock waves from San Fran's next biggest earthquake were flowing through me all night. No joke, I was not feeling well when I left. They should have a disclaimer warning of said side...or shall I say inside effects.
Posted by: Kelli Douglas at June 26, 2006 12:28 PM
You would have felt like a guard in a prison riot at the New York show then...
Posted by: Jeff at June 26, 2006 12:31 PM
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