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Hardcore
bands at the Replay? Well, as the late and great Texas comedian Bill
Hicks might say, "Who'd of thunk it?" The mental vision of
whitebelts and engineers' caps twisting and writhing in a dancing fury
of chaos isn't the first that comes to mind when considering the typical
composition of the Replay crowd.
Nonetheless, a handful of kids here in town waited patiently for the
coming of the Playing Enemy/Esoteric show Sept. 10. Boasting a lineup
with former members of Kiss it Goodbye, Undertow, Rorschach, nineironspitfire,
et al, Playing Enemy should've stolen this show and rocked the Replay's
ass off, dubious crowd or not. No going though - even with their list
of well-established former bass players (e.g. Morgan Henderson of the
Blood Brothers). We're in a new age now - a new age of shaggy black
hair, child-sized t-shirts and Iggy Pop wannabes. With the virtual demise
of Minneapolis' Amphetamine Reptile records and with Frank Kozik's poster
and LP empire on the scene backburner, long and moody sludge-rock sounds
have become somewhat trite and none of it appeals much to the kids the
way it used to. The new demand is keyboards, lots and lots of keyboards.
Even King Buzzo's hair contains more strands of grey these days. The
only remnants left of the bygone era of Unsane, Hammerhead, and the
Melvins are the dumpstered goods of Escape Artist records, Aaron Turner
of Isis and maybe what's left of Neurosis.
But Playing Enemy is far from deterred.
The shameful death of Kiss it Goodbye - a violent quintet featuring
the remains of Deadguy that pummeled New York's hardcore scene in the
late 90s - didn't stop a few of the surviving members from carrying
on with new projects. Apparently, though, Playing Enemy isn't very fond
of being compared to their former bands. But who can help it with a
band like Kiss it Goodbye that sent so many hardcore kids spiraling
into a fit of dark pretension giving them yet another reason to be pissed
off about nothing? Kiss it Goodbye broke all the rules of upbeat, positive
youth song structures with mind-numbingly slow and brooding 10-minute
songs that openly encouraged heroine abuse. And even if Playing Enemy
wear Campers (or the less becoming 'Italian loafers'), the comparison
is relevant. The brutality and madness of Playing Enemy is simply too
good at conjuring fine memories of Kiss it Goodbye.
Unfortunately, though, the memories didn't make it all the way to the
Replay. The long, sinister, tom-loaded and bass-heavy intros that characterize
Playing Enemy's only full-length release, "Caesarian," didn't
come through well in the Replay's intimate quarters. Blame it on the
PA. Blame it on the beer. Even with the band's charisma and archetypal
mean-spirited stage antics (i.e. waving neck of bass menacingly at innocent
Replay patrons heading to and from the can), the kids weren't into it
and most of them preferred to remain on the patio where all the girls
are. Playing Enemy's bassist, Shane Mehling, didn't even bleed. And
this guy loves to bleed. Stories abound throughout the country of Mehling,
with questionable intent, smashing his bass into his head and splitting
his skull apart during shows. And last year, during a show with the
exact same lineup at El Torreon, the finger-plucking Mehling ripped
his already-bandaged fingers open spewing blood all over the body of
his bass. Fucking brutal. But it didn't happen this year, and the lack
of blood symbolized the ultimate fate of Playing Enemy's set.
So who was left to rock the kids out of their stupor? The Esoteric,
of course, and they've never had problems enticing fans. But new material
they've been working on could soon send them off to the land of rockstars
if they keep improving. Christ, their drummer isn't even near old enough
to drink at the Replay yet, but he's making child prodigy violinists
look like kindergarten xylophone players.
Still relatively fresh off a tour with the re-formed Coalesce, the Esoteric
has added some classic hardcore touches to their otherwise predominantly
metal-edge sound. With more instrumental melodies á la Saved
by Grace added to the band's signature death-mongering breakdowns, the
Esoteric sounds more like a mix between Shai Hulud and [place name of
any hair-farming black metal Relapse band here]. But the Esoteric has
added another spin to their sound as well. You guessed it - keyboards.
But don't think to fast here. We're not talking about a Strokes cover
band. The new guy has loaded down all of the Esoteric's classic tunes
with some complimentary samples and vicious electronic punches. Looks
like Steve Austin and Today is the Day (former Amphetamine Reptile heavies)
are still influencing the next generation of progressive metal kings.
Or, at least it would be easy enough to blame it on Aaron Turner and
Isis. But the new edition is genuinely unique, and comparing them to
anyone else in any real sense at this point wouldn't be fair. The Esoteric
is just as ultra-fast and blood-curdling as they were before, but the
new twist is definitely taking them further. And unlike Playing Enemy's
unfortunate luck with the Replay, the tightly packed crowd made the
Esoteric's new sound seem brighter and better than ever.
For
more Esoteric info or pictures from this show go to http://www.crashandbang.com/the-esoteric/
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