The Helio Sequence Pounds It Out

Watching Benjamin Weikel drum, it’s easy to see why The Great Curmudgeon Himself—Mr. Isaac Brock—recruited him to fill in on drums during the recording of Good News for People Who Love Bad News. In fact, it’s almost difficult to see why they parted ways, seeing as how that record was an undeniable success (for most fans, anyway). Of course, Brock’s band is a giant cavalcade of revolving characters, a former-cult group now relegated to major label stardom, and I’m sure original drummer Jeremiah Green totally called “seat-backs!” Plus, ya know, living-legend Johnny Marr wanted a piece of the action. So there was that. But Weikel had his own burgeoning side project he was neglecting, what with the incessant touring and all, and his experience with Modest Mouse is probably the main reason that it’s nearly four years past since the last Helio Sequence record, Love and Distance, was released. Well, it would seem everything turned out okay for the Portland-based drummer and his soft-singing cohort, Brandon Summers, who should find considerably more success with their latest release: Keep Your Eyes Ahead.

I’ve been hooked like worm on their new record from the second I heard the title track on the radio several weeks ago, and I made it my goddess-given duty to head over to Neumos this past Saturday (3/8) and check out their live set. I had seen them once before a few years ago at the Capitol Hill Block Party (CHBP, ya’ll!), but this was an entirely different experience. Not only does Summers have an astonishingly different voice after suffering through some vocal chord trouble—another reason for their hiatus—but Weikel has become one of the most exciting live drummers in recent memory. Brian Chase of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs comes to mind, or Kevin O’Connor of Talkdemonic; I’m sure we all could point out a few others. His drumming borders on maniacal, the rise and fall of his colossal sticks continuously crashing into his toms and cymbals, his head bobbing up and down with a fanatical ferocity. God, I hate to say this (Benjamin Weikel, please forgive me if you ever stumble upon this review), but he was almost a vague recollection of Guy Smiley—from Sesame Street. He just had this huge semi-grin on his face whenever he was in the middle of one of his several wild smack downs. Guy Smiley was never this triumphant, though. And with all this talk of “colossal” and “ferocity”, please don’t mistake him for Tommy Lee or something—this isn’t butt-rock and the beats he plays are dynamic, controlled, and unique. Although I suppose an upside-down, revolving drum sphere would’ve been cool.

The band started off the concert with the first three cuts from Keep Your Eyes Ahead, and my lady commented that the songs sounded live just as they did on record—a good thing. That was an astute observation, for the most part, but what stood out to me was the torrential thunder of Weikel’s drumming, much more prominent on stage than on the album. It actually almost drowned out both his laptop and his partner, but Summers did a fine job of making his musical presence felt with poignant and precise guitar playing. Of course, he is the voice of the band, and the changes he’s gone through are definitely noticeable—vocally, he actually resembles Bob Dylan quite a bit. Maybe that’s the reason there are more than a few songs on the new record that sound like true folk music; acoustic guitar, weighty, lovelorn lyrics and all. Or not, who knows, but in my opinion the formula works.

The set was an admirable mix of new and old songs, but honestly, tunes like “Hallelujah”, “The Captive Mind”, and “Keep Your Eyes Ahead” were the cream of the crop, sounding full and polished in the friendly confines of a sold-out Neumos. If you’re at all curious about this band, I would certainly urge you to check them out—they’ll be playing a few more US dates, mainly here in the West, and then it’s off to Europe for a jolly good time!