As difficult as it was last night to separate the individual stage personae of the four members of Shrinebuilder from their respective legacies, equally troubling now is how to get through this review of the show at Le Poisson Rouge without devolving into meaningless hyperbole. How does one commune with gods?

Sunday night shows are a sticky proposition always, no matter who it is. The spectre of the coming week looms large and by four in the afternoon, there’s at least part of me that is ready to say, “Screw it,” watch The Simpsons in my pajamas and make that the evening’s main event. Nonetheless, these people being who they are and the club being in Manhattan instead of Brooklyn — it could just as easily have been at Europa; half of Shrinebuilder has played there in the last month with other bands (Wino with Saint Vitus and Al Cisneros with Om) — it was the proverbial offer I couldn’t refuse.

Liturgy, who are (and I quote) “a black metal band from Brooklyn,” opened. I caught their last song and a half after walking in with my sandals and being greeted by the guy at the door who said, “I see you brought your moshing shoes.” Har. Sure enough, Liturgy were a black metal band from Brooklyn. Skinny hipster dudes with a Mayhem influence. There you go.

Next up was Rwake, who more and more are looking like pros on stage. Vocalist CT had hand motions throughout as he grooved on the riffs that made him look like a doom mime, but it was cool anyway. Only trouble with their set was the sound. It was pretty clear the sound guy was working for Shrinebuilder and the soundcheck was geared toward them, since Rwake‘s vocals, both those of CT, who is bravely trying to inject more clean singing into his approach, and of B, came through completely dry and loading with a searing feedback for the duration. Was a bummer. They played a lot of new songs, though, and especially the last of the bunch was a highlight. Relapse has their next record listed as “TBA 2010,” but whenever it lands, chances are it’ll be worth checking out. Chances also are that Sanford Parker‘s name will be on it somewhere, so you know how that goes.

If you find yourself for some reason or other at Le Poisson Rouge, try the Red Fish house beer. I did a few times over, but not so much as to lose any real lucidity. I wanted a clear head for when Shrinebuilder came on, if only so I could remember the show to review it later. The venue was packed by then, but there was still some room to exist by the bar, so I installed myself there and found a spot toward stage right where I could see Scott Kelly, Al Cisneros and Wino as though they were in a line, occasionally catching a glimpse of Dale Crover‘s face as well, but mostly seeing his hands work the drums.

They were together, and as tight as you could want them to be. I’ve seen Neurosis, Om, several Wino bands and Melvins, but there was something about these four spectacular, legendary players on stage with each other that really made the night stand out. Each member had such a strong presence — and though sometimes it felt like I was watching the individuals rather than the band as a whole — there was no denying the tonal power coming through those amps. Wino‘s fuzz and Kelly‘s mechanized audio cruelty, Cisneros‘ gorgeous bass warmth and Crover‘s awesomely timed starts and stops: it was a good time to be alive.

I had tried to come into it without expectations. The Shrinebuilder record on Neurot was still fresh enough in my memory that I had some idea of what to expect song-wise (and they did indeed cover Joy Division, just don’t ask me what song), but beyond that was trusting enough in the experience to come to try not to say, “Oh my god this is gonna be the best shit ever I can’t wait I can’t wait I can’t wait” and so forth. I’d hardly say I have the album memorized, but the more recognizable moments stood out for sure, and there were plenty of those to be had. It was a late night, but no regrets whatsoever.

Of the several well-marked exits in Le Poisson Rouge, only the main one was open to leave through, so I filed out trailing the crowd and we all spilled, disoriented, onto Bleecker St. One Park West Diner pizza burger later, I was crawling into bed and trying my best to come up with a beginning to a live review of the show. Should have probably spent that time thinking of an ending.

In all seriousness, it was a special night, a congregation of themes, ideas and people the likes of which probably won’t be witnessed again. Even if Shrinebuilder puts out more albums, tours again, and even if they’re better next time around, there will have only been one first time, and this was it.

Tags: Gods, Neurot, Shrinebuilder

This entry was posted on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 12:04 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.