Noise Pop 2013: DIIV

NOISE POP 2013:

DIIV

BRICK AND MORTAR HALL, SF

02 MARCH, 2013

On the second of two sold-out nights at San Francisco's Brick and Mortar Hall, DIIV lived up to their billing, putting an exclamation point on the 21st edition of the Noise Pop Festival. Last time we caught up with DIIV, they had just crawled off a flight back from Europe and worked through a set opening for Wild Nothing in Santa Barbara that was rough, but gave ample evidence of what was to come. The LP Oshin was a mere template for the live sound, and the roughness of the show gave it energy.
With the Brick and Mortar gigs, DIIV as a headliner did nothing to duck the spotlight, embracing the challenge with a full band that's honed the enlarged sound into a battering force, including some new material for the hardcore. Leader Zachary Cole Smith displayed his usual kinked sense of humor, performing the first chunk of the show in a ski mask. Aside from new material, the highlight of the show was "Dowsed", prompting a frantic thrashing in the pit up front. All told, a nice sendoff to Austin (***) for DIIV, and a nice momentum builder for their upcoming round of high-profile opening gigs.

(***) In a series of posts on his Twitter feed, Zachary Cole Smith made his feelings on the whole SXSW scene abundantly clear:
DIIV (@DIIV): Hi Austin. Fuck SXSW. There... I said it. Here, the music comes last. 5 minute set-up, no sound check, 15 minute set. The "music" element...
...is all a front, it's the first thing to be compromised. Corporate money everywhere but in the hands of the artists, at what is really...
ust a glorified corporate networking party. Drunk corporate goons and other industry vampires and cocaine. Everyone is drunk...
..being cool. "Official" bureaucracy and all their mindless rules. Branding, branding, branding. It's bullshit... sorry. -Cole
For the record, i'm actually having a blast at SXSW

Noise Pop 2013: Wax Idols

WAX IDOLS

BRICK AND MORTAR HALL, SF

02 MARCH, 2013

After the smoke cleared from SISU's thoroughly satisfying set, I was ready to kick back and enjoy the rest of the night, looking quite forward to seeing DIIV again, and not quite aware of what was about to hit me. Oakland's Wax Idols hit the stage, and 'took no prisoners' is putting it lightly. Frankly, the entire set was a blur of sweaty goodness for me, and fortunately I had the presence of mind to roll tape and take pictures. The reconstruction is hazy, but thus: Fronted by Heather Fedewa, (AKA Hether Fortune), the band blazed through a set that basically premiered their new LP, Discipline + Desire, out 26 March on Slumberland.
Leading with the LP's unholy trinity opening sequence of "Stare Back", "Sound Of A Void", and "When It Happens" in a mad rush, before falling back on older single "William Says", and a measured, (compared to the preceding), take on "Human Condition", from debut album No Future, (2011-Hozac). Bassist Amy Rosenoff shines, in that laconic Billy Zoom poker-faced way, while new drummer Rachel Travers holds down the fort with power and grace. Guitarist Jennifer Mundy completes the lineup, and her interplay w/Fortune is compelling to watch.
Dipping back into the new LP for "Ad Re Ian", "Scent Of Love", and "Stay In", they brought the ten song set to a rousing conclusion with last year's 7" "Schadenfreude".
Based on the evidence of this set, they appear to be primed for a breakthrough this coming week at the annual SXSW bash in Austin, Texas. Attendees take note, this is a band to put on your must-see list...As for me, we'll cross paths again in LA down the road, and hopefully I'll be able to give a more lucid account.

Noise Pop 2013: SISU/Lenz

NOISE POP 2013

SISU/LENZ

BRICK AND MORTAR HALL, SF

02 MARCH, 2013
 

Saturday night for Noise Pop '13 turned out to be so colossal, it's broken up into multiple parts. DIIV headlined a second consecutive sold out night at the Brick and Mortar Hall, and the full lineup was quality, to say the least. First half of the evening will be covered here: Oakland-based Lenz, and SISU from Los Angeles. SISU, of course, has popped up here a few times, from the Echoplex on their home turf, and on a field trip to Santa Barbara for the New Noise Block Party last fall. Most recently, they bagged a prime East Coast opening slot for Cat Power, and, as this night showed, continue to improve as a live band. The set had some new songs, with "Intimidator" being the prime pick, making one pine for a full-length LP. They built momentum throughout, ending with a powerful one-two punch of "Light Eyes" and "Two Thousand Hands" from last year's EP, Demon Tapes, Vol. II. Another notch in the gun belt for SISU.

 
 

Lenz was an unknown quantity to me, at that point, and based on the proceedings, i'll surely be following up on them. The delivered a smart, jangly set that reminded one of the power of the song, and how that craft seems to be a lost art. A pleasurable, but all too brief set, and they left one wanting more. Lenz has one EP, Under Neon, as well as a brand new LP, Ways To Face The Day, out now on 1234 Go! Records