So last night I went to go see The Felix Culpa for free at this christian college near my house. Pretty much had zero info to go on, just an approximate start time and that it was on campus. Now, on a side, note, this is a very religious school. No smoking anywhere on campus, boys and girls are not allowed to be alone after a certain time, chaperons (sp?), curfews, strict strict strict. I have only been on the campus a few times even. I played bass for a wedding there once, the ceremony part. I was there for something with friends or family once or twice. That is probably it. Regardless, I kind of know where things are. The whole campus, educational building, dorms and what not are all kind of built out from a central point. That point is the chapel.
Now, not knowing where i was going exactly gave me a few options, drive around and look for band trailers, ask someone or just drive slowly like a creep with my window down listening for music. It was pouring down rain at the time, so being a creep was pretty much my only option. And where was the show? yup, at the chapel.
This may sound strange, but I have always believed that churches have better acoustics than most venues, and this was true for last night as well. There was a stage set up where the pulpit is, cloth covering the back walls hung from the balcony, basically, all around great sound set up.
There were 3 bands last night and the show was free. It started with a band called Daniel and the Lion. Totally thrown for a loop on this one. Bearded, longer hair guys, playing some very poppy sounding folk/rock as they described themselves. I was not totally sold on the band, but damn their singer had an amazing quality to his voice.
Suns played second. They should have some music up soon on their bandcamp page, or so the tour manager told me. I guess they are the remains of Wax On Radio, who is a band I used to own the album of, but I have no idea where it went off my computer...but I just found it. I was never in love with this band, they had some amazing music, but then some total flops that just kind of collapsed under the weight of the band. Suns on the other hand kind of blew me away. There were so many layers that fed off each other instead of overlapping and getting lost, that they painted a beautiful landscape of sound. All I can really say is if you like Sigur Ros, The Sound Of Animals Fighting, Circa Survive, or the RX Bandits' "Mandala" you will probably like this band. Plus, they have 2 drummers. They both play full sets. I have never seen 2 guys drumming on sets before that were so in sync and listen to each other to make this incredibly huge sound.
The Felix Culpa finished the show. as I have talked about this band before, I will not bore you (which i probably have already done) with the specifics of each song, but let me tell you, despite some odd technical issues, the band really played a great show. Now, getting to my talk about the acoustics of the chapel really being amazing. The show last night was pretty much raw. The only thing that seemed to be coming through the P.A. was the vocals and keyboard. Everything else appeared to be straight from the band and their amps. I wish venues in the city would follow this pattern. The sound last night was more pure, less boomy and overall just about the perfect way to listen to a band that does so much with their instruments. I could actually hear each guitar, bass and keyboard note and how they intertwined with the vocals to weave the fabric of a complete sonic experience. That is probably the cheesiest thing I have ever said, but really this is a band that you need to listen to to truly understand. I regret having waited this long to hear them live.
No comments:
Post a Comment