Two Ends of a Spectrum

Exactly seven days apart, I saw MTV-friendly Tenacious D at the Paramount, and a small noise/experimental show at the Lobo Saloon. To say they were dissimilar would be like saying tidal waves are moisture filled.

Guess which one this is?

The D

Tenacious D is of course actor Jack Black’s music project. Together with Kyle Gass they form an acoustic duo who are backed by a 3-member electric band for much of the show.

The show was as much theater/musical/rock opera as it was rock concert. And that’s a saving grace because without that angle, I think their shtick would get old quickly after eight or ten 80’s-metal-themed songs. The wonderful stage antics, costumes and backing band throw a great deal of fun into the Tenacious D blender.

And a show I believe is exactly what the audience was there to see.

(They didn’t allow cameras, big surprise there. Meh.)

The N

The noise show at the Lobo a week later was a gritty (at the Lobo, what isn’t?) gathering of the edges of the music universe: noise afficianados. The artists included griefer, Canadians Coastal, Ear Venom and Seattle’s two-man Blue Sabbath Black Cheer.

Like the noise/experimental set I caught by Stan of PsychForm Records at the Re-Bar 11 days ago, it was a mindbending, earsplitting cacophony of loops, sounds, disguised rhythms, voices, stressed amps, melting speakers, sweat, tattoos, mics and pedals. I loved it.

Believe me when I say these guys put more emotion and more energy into their four-to-eight-minute sets than some bands put in albums. I wouldn’t have been surprised if a set had ended in sobbing, or laughing, or heatstroke.

The music is entirely irreproducible, but that’s what makes it so fresh. It’s there in front of you, it’s yours for a night, then it’s gone for good.

Catch another take on the noise show here at industrial.org. See more photos of this show at my photo site instamattic.com.