Another Wherehouse show, another great line up. A little loud, a little weird, way good with front men flying everywhere!. NERV and Los Voltage are both locally grown bands, while Holy Sheet hails from Providence and Wild Child from Minneapolis. They all performed short, wild sets, so this was a night for those who like brief, loud boluses of sound blasted in their faces.
Los Voltage, composed of Old Scratch alumnus, played their second-ever show. Their sound is solid, and this time around their front man seemed a little looser and the music seemed a little tighter. With some bands that attempt hard punk, you lose the sounds of the individual instruments in all the fury, but not with Los Voltage. Of course they’re loud, accelerating and brash but you don’t lose the ability to hear what each of them are doing. And I was standing right next to the speaker that is almost as tall as I am. This band is worth keeping tabs on…I look forward to seeing them hit their stride.
NERV is a local band I hadn’t heard of before, and boy, they are a wild ride. I can’t find any of their stuff online, though, so I can’t tell you as much as I would like about them. I got to watch their moustached front man ‘pling’ around the audience as though it was a pinball machine. What their sound lacks in clarity, it makes up for with fervor.
Holy Sheet was by far the most arresting of all the bands. Prior to their set, I was working my way through the crowd and bumped into their front man in the dark. He actually startled the shit out of me – his face and pleated peach dress were smeared with (fake?) blood and he carried a somber, silent expression on his face. During their set, he writhed in the throes of choreomania, releasing a demon-posessed-babydoll voice over manic punk crescendos. A spectacle, no doubt, but also very good.
The night was driven home by aptly-named Wild Child. I tried to research this band online, found nothing and was later told that this was their very first show. I couldn’t tell. They pulled it off like they’ve been doing this forever. They kept the crowd pulsing, despite their short set and the late hour. As an audience member, it’s hard to stand still when you’re watching a whole band go berserk in such a raw and entertaining fashion. By the time they were done, most of the crowd looked exhausted.
I often stick around after the shows end so that I can awkwardly bumble and mingle, and this night I met Doug Chaney of PATV. He’s been hitting up lots of shows at the Wherehouse and elsewhere, and getting some great video footage along the way. Find his stuff at PATV’s website – Live @ IC
