THE WARLOCKS, THE MORNING AFTER GIRLS, GLISS
CLUB CONGRESS
Wednesday, Aug. 26
Intense feedback, scintillating distortion, delicate chord-bending
and heavy reverb: These are the elements that define post-rock and
shoegaze sounds. The Wednesday, Aug. 26, show at Congress captured the
idiosyncratic beauty and chaos of the genre to the point of making me
weak in the knees.
Gliss, a Los Angeles trio, have visited Tucson at least three times
in the last year. They sensibly jump on tours suited to their brand of
fuzzed-out rock. Onstage, it’s difficult to tell if the centerpiece of
their sound is the impeccable guitar work by David Reiss or the
semi-whiny, yearning vocals of Martin Klingman. Drummer/bass player
Victoria Cecilia’s addition to the normally stunning vocal harmonies
was disappointingly muted. Highlights of their performance included a
masterful guitar solo on “29 Acts of Love,” as well as “Morning Light,”
the opening track from their most recent release, Devotion
Implosion.
Throw Brian Jonestown Massacre, Radiohead and the Jesus and Mary
Chain into a blender, and the end result is the elegant brilliance of
the Morning After Girls. They opened with the powerful anthem “The Best
Explanation,” from their new album, Alone, and the luscious,
whispery harmonies delivered by guitarists/songwriters Sacha Lucashenko
and Martin Sleeman surpassed any live vocal achievement in recent
memory. Sleeman’s slide work on the guitar was exquisite, and the title
track from the new album revealed layer upon layer of guitar, a smooth
yet catchy melody, and an inescapable hook. Their live show takes their
recorded material to new heights. Somehow both delicate and powerful,
watching these Australian natives play was one the high points of my
concert-going year.
The Warlocks, based in Los Angeles, epitomized the mind-altering
sonic depths of psychedelic rock. Through the red lights and heavy
smoke, blistering guitar emanated from bandleader Bobby Hecksher. For
more than a decade, the Warlocks have seen band members come and go,
but it’s clear that their current tour lineup is solid. Whereas only
some of their recorded tracks are listenable on an ongoing basis, their
live show is something to behold. The din of their droning
instrumentation and unforgiving dirges doesn’t allow focus on much
else—the audience was fixated.
This article appears in Sep 3-9, 2009.
