Wax Idols: Two For The Road

WAX IDOLS

INDEPENDENT, SAN FRANCISCO

26 JULY, 2013

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WAX IDOLS

CHAPEL, SAN FRANCISCO

08 JUNE, 2013

Keeping up with Hether Fortune and Wax Idols is becoming a full time job, in a good way. Not static, ever mutating, the latest iteration of the group was on display at The Independent, finding ex-drummer Keven Tecon returning to the fold on keyboards and backing vocals, and his intimacy with the songs took away any learning curve whatsoever. The impact was fascinating and helped underline the musicality of the band that sometimes gets buried in the ferocity. Intensity-wise, it was as above, so below. Guitarist Jennifer Mundy had more room to stretch out, laying out insistent filigrees. Rachel Travers seems totally settled into the drum spot now, and Amy Rosenoff, laconic as always on bass, provides the crucial anchor for the storm around her. Highlights were many, but standing out was a towering take on "Dethroned". Wax Idols are still one of the most compelling bands to watch currently, they don't mess around with stage patter or goofiness, they just laser-focus in, and unload.

In June, Wax Idols opened for Lumerians at The Chapel, and I was interested to see, after the rush of initially seeing them, was it just an on night? It took no time at all to dispel any second thoughts I might have had. More dates across the U.S. supporting Discipline + Desire, (Slumberland Records), had solidified the lineup, and the giddy energy was channeled into a savage, full frontal guitar attack, with no quarter given. "Ad:Re:Ian", (below), opened the set with a roar.


The vocal mix was unflattering, with Fortune all but buried under the band's attack, but the raw energy she projected made up for any aural deficiencies. Old favorite "William Says" made an appearance, followed by blistering takes of "Sound Of A Void" and "Scent Of Love". There was no between song chatter, just a relentless charge through the set, ending with an epic rendition of "Stay In" that words can't describe, (below).

Ready For The Weekend...

WEEKEND

CHASMS

INDEPENDENT, SAN FRANCISCO

26 JULY, 2013

Bay Area to Brooklyn transplants Weekend brought it all back home for an event at the Independent in San Francisco celebrating the release of their 2nd LP Jinx on Slumberland Records. The night featured support by locals Chasms and Wax Idols, (whose set will get its own piece). The question seemingly hovering over the night was how the band followed up 2010's beloved Sports. Jinx is bigger, cleaner, and moodier, recorded in dire circumstances on the West Coast and buffed to a sheen back east. Live, the new songs translate well, with lead vocalist Shaun Durkin keeping the audience transfixed and drummer Abe Pedroza pinned the audience to the walls. The addition of a new bassist allowed Durkan to add to Kevin Johnson's waves of guitar. The set was seeded with enough old favorites, (a stark reading of "End Times"), to keep the faithful in line. All in all, a promising start to an album built for a long tour.

Chasms set the tone for the night with an intense, droning set that built up like holding your breath for half an hour, until the dam broke loose with a set-ending jam that shook the rafters. With one EP, When It Comes, to their name and a new EP, Riser, out shortly, the duo of Jess Labrador and Shannon Madden create grinding glaciers of noise that, while tending long, are so involving that ones scarcely notices the passage of time.  We will cross paths with this band again sooner, rather than later.