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Live Review: The Body, Whitehorse, Rozamov and SET in Boston, 05.09.14

Posted in Reviews on May 13th, 2014 by JJ Koczan

It wasn’t a house show exactly, and it wasn’t a secret show exactly. Dragon’s Den is a studio/arts space in a building somewhere in South Boston that prefers its exact location to be kept quiet and that does shows sporadically with the hope of not attracting too much attention. It is decorated like an arts space and has a theatre-style stage, deep and wide, that, in the case of a show like this one with The Body, Whitehorse, Rozamov and SET, held audience and band alike. Still, it was a small, personal space, so while it wasn’t a house show, it had that vibe, and while it wasn’t a secret show, neither was it one promoted to bring out as many people as possible. It was somewhere in between.

The start time was listed as 7PM sharp, and fool that I am, I believed it. I left at 4:50 for what’s usually a half-hour trip and sat in two solid hours of traffic to get into town, thinking I was pushing it as I walked into the building. Not quite. Neither SET, nor Rozamov, nor half the people volunteering their time to run the gig were there yet. I found a chair and sat in it and killed time on my phone while The Body and Whitehorse loaded in their merch, set up on long tables to my left — The Body with a vinyl collection all their own and a tote bag to put it in and Whitehorse with a limited tape recorded on the other side of the planet in their native Australia. I thought about doing some shopping, refrained. I’d paid for parking already and cash is scarce.

A little over an hour passed before SET went on, shortly after eight. At that point, it was still less than a week since I’d last (and first) seen the Worcester four-piece at The Eye of the Stoned Goat 4 (review here) in their hometown, so although I hardly know their stuff, songs like “Valley of the Stone” and “Sacred Moon Cult” — Tom from Rozamov doing an impromptu guest spot on vocals for the latter — rang familiar nonetheless. They had left one of the Stoned Goat fest’s most favorable impressions, particularly as one of the few acts on that bill I’d never caught before, and Dragon’s Den found them no less impressive, a little more stoned-out than thrashing, maybe, but still with a subtly complex blend of Sleep-y impulse and more metallic tendencies. They’d struck me as a quality band the first time out and they did so again, which is always reassuring.

People were starting to fill up the room. Most of those who’d show up for the show were there by the time Rozamov went on, BYO’ing sixers in brown paper bags for liberal enjoyment on some found-looking furniture in front of the LED lightboard or off in some corner, otherwise standing around, chatting amiably about the shifting of this or that paradigm in the way that young white people do when they’re in it, of it. I flipped through photos and waited for Rozamov, who — also at Stoned Goat (review here) — had demonstrated trio proficiency the weekend prior and whose more brutality-minded metallurgy served as a fitting transition from SET‘s opening push into the two touring acts who’d cap the night.

Also making a highlight of “Famine” from their 2013 Of Gods and Flesh EP, Rozamov rounded out with the same new song that had left a mark the weekend prior, their blend of thrash, sludge and periodic stoner groove hitting like an adjustment of the balances at work in SET‘s aesthetic, both bands using two vocalists to their advantage, guitarist Matt Iacovelli and bassist Tom Corino — who traded out instruments smoothly mid-song after breaking a string — perhaps most effective in driving Rozamov as they worked in tandem screams on the aforementioned closer, drummer Will Hendrix holding a steady, quickened pulse behind. For an evening that held the promise of overwhelming volume, Rozamov fit right in.

My understanding is that Whitehorse were/are in-country to play Maryland Deathfest. So be it. I had missed them at Roadburn, and while I dig The Body, I’ve seen them before, so along with the locals, Whitehorse were what drew me to the show. Playing almost completely in the dark, the Melbourne six-piece unleashed a vicious, molasses-toned barrage of extreme sludge, lurching groove topped with burly growls. Their appeal was as immediate as their rumble, two guitars, bass, noise, drums, vocals all working toward a single goal of sonic annihilation. In decibels and extremity, they were every bit a match for The Body, and their huge, slow-running tones only made the material more consuming. Fucking heavy. Very fucking heavy.

There were three, maybe four photographers taking pictures up front, where I also was, most of them using flashes to do so. I’ll admit I turned mine on to try and get a couple shots as well, it was so dark. About three songs in, impressively-bearded Whitehorse vocalist Peter Hyde pointed to two or three photographers and me — literally, pointed his finger — and said they’d had enough of the flashes, told us we needed to leave so that people who actually wanted to see the show could move forward. It was belittling and humiliating, a first for me, and it felt utterly needless. I’d sat in an awful lot of traffic to show up an hour early for somebody who apparently didn’t want to see the show, and if the flash photography was a problem, an easy fix might’ve been to ask for no more flash. I guess that wouldn’t have been punk rock enough. Melbourne to Boston is a long way to go to make someone feel like an asshole for liking your band.

I bummed out pretty quick and pretty hard, made my way to the back and would’ve headed out the door but for reminding myself of those two hours I’d spent getting to the show, so I stood instead and watched Whitehorse finish and waited for The Body to go on. I took a couple pictures of the Portland-by-way-of-Providence duo, stayed for maybe three songs and then left, feeling mostly like a jerk for having shown up in the first place. Still audible from the ground floor outside the Dragon’s Den building, The Body were delivering the aural punishment that has served as the basis of their well-earned reputation, but any chance I had of being into it had evaporated. I was glad I got to see SET and Rozamov again, Dragon’s Den was a cool space and if I caught wind of another gig there, I’d go. I guess that after the Stoned Goat fest and the Floor show earlier in the week I was behind on my quota of unnecessary bullshit, but whatever. Some you win, some you lose. At least the roads were clear on my way home.

Some more pics of SET and Rozamov after the jump. Thanks for reading.

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