No Age played Clark University's The Grind last night with Soft Circle and Silk Flowers. The show was pretty great in general despite the lack of crowd enthusiasm and long lag between sets.
Silk Flowers went on first, immediately recalling Joy Division's Ian Curtis' deep monotone, which (after talking to the singer, Avi) turned out to be a vocal effect, I'm pretty sure. The rest of the sound was summoned from electronic devices, keyboards, a drum pad, and two other drums. Though they skimped on actual instruments, Silk Flowers crafted some dark wasteland textures juxtaposed with a-ha synth-pop tendencies and chaotic, jumbled sample patterns to create something captivating. Avi (decked out in self-embroidered Mickey Mouse shirt) rocked back and forth with the mic or with his two drumsticks, seeming to keep more of the beat while the other two members, Peter and Ethan, wrapped sound around it, filling the room with sound.
Their 7" is rad as well, featuring three tracks, one of which I distinctly remember hearing them play ("Chance of Showers").
Soft Circle was next after a long break, I'm talking like 30 minutes. He was one man, placed behind a drum set with many gadgets strewn about his feet, samplers and pedals and the like. He was almost a one-man Caribou, looping sampled riffs and voice (rocking the fly no-hands-necessary mouthpiece) over each other before diving into a cataclysm of meaty drum rhythms. These kept attention for the most part, but some simply went on for too long and eventually the audience got the point, becoming bored of the same formula over and over again, no matter what sort of physical feat it was pounding away while keeping a beat and matching up with the samples.
No Age was straight killer, better than when I caught them at the Middle East over the summer. Randy Randall shredded straight up. He gets loud, as the amp size should have forewarned, too loud to hear his or drummer Dean Spunt's vocals (they've awful singing voices anyway, as far as I've gathered). No Age is the kind of band that makes you want to be in a band. It's just two normal guys on stage (or off, as Randall eventually meandered out into the meek crowd) playing loud, catchy music without frills or games. They played some new songs as well as all the songs that they should have: "Teen Creeps," "Boy Void," "Eraser," "Brain Burner," and ended with "Everybody's Down" by request. My advice: See these guys in a metropolitan area before they start playing bigger venues, preferably in a tight, hot space with some drunkards who wanna move.
Silk Flowers
Silk Flowers
7"
Soft Circle
Randy, No Age
Feedback
Randy
Randy on the floor
Dean Allen Spunt, No Age
Setlist
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