Away from the early spring drizzle, the Corner Hotel played host to a night of noise rock terror. As early arrivals poured beer down their throats, they couldn’t have anticipated what was about to commence. It was an evening of optimum sound quality and evocative smoke and lighting – an evening to remember.
Warming the stage for the NY headliners were local shoegazers Luna Ghost. The five-piece drowned the room in a progressive flood. Cunning bass lines patterned the low-end, while sharp chords splattered the highs. Distortion was cleverly employed, giving dynamics to the long feedback-soaked tracks. Finding a balance between My Bloody Valentine-esque shoegaze jams and the drawn-out vocals of Swervedriver, they had definitely done their homework and gave us a tight set.
The night progressed and A Place To Bury Strangers took the stage, making the stage a portal to a noisy, deafening world. Wasting no time, the set began with a blasting noise rock solo, hard bass riffs and frantic drumming. The strap fell off Oliver Ackerman’s guitar as he thrashed away, but this didn’t stop him shredding across the stage. His hands were clawed around the neck of the instrument as if he were wrestling the life from a beast.
The clean post-punk production of the band’s albums fell a bit flat on stage, but their showmanship more than made up for it. Along with Ackerman’s guitar wrestling, bass player Dion Lunadon decided to smash his bass into the stage in just the third song of the set, causing a seismic thump to ripple through the venue. Ackerman, still shredding like a man possessed, followed suit and chopped his guitar into the stage like an axe to wood.
The set alternated between new tracks and old favourites, such as the rhythmically snappy And I’m Up and the big rocker Ego Death. However, nobody could’ve predicted the way the set concluded. As they played I Lived My Life To Stand In The Shadow Of Your Heart, Ackerman grabbed the lighting machine and cast its beam across the crowd like a searchlight. The light then cut out and the band continued in full darkness, letting nothing but harsh noise pour from the stage. As the song neared its end, the three band members jumped off stage and ran to the sound desk. They removed a sheet to expose a drum machine and a vocal distorter, and played a five-minute noise-punk jam as the crowd surrounded them in confused awe.
BY THOMAS BRAND
Loved: Losing my hearing. I can’t get told off anymore.
Hated: Losing my hearing. I can’t take compliments anymore.
Drank: $6 tinnies.
