Originally ran March 2009 in ENVY Magazine

The band …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead’s name conjures up images of annihilation and war, but it’s truly something different. Conrad Keely and Jason Reece don’t seem violent—maybe just a “little destructive”—but the name has cultivated itself to urban legend status.

“Which lie do you want?” Conrad Keely quips. “The most fantastic one is that it is from the Dresden codex and it describes an event in the papal vault, when Lord of Death, Insomnia, is conjured up. There was a correlating story found in the Egyptian Book of the Dead.” Coincindentally, it’s also, he jokes, a name that will always be listed first in lineups for bands, and it’s definitely eye-catching as well.

Festival Thyme, their EP and “album teaser,” evokes little pieces and themes of their sixth studio effort—their first independent album—Century of Self, which is to be released in 2009. “[The reason for the EP] was kind of like to show people that we weren’t sitting around, and we were actually working and we’re trying to show our progress,” reveals Jason Reece, “…you also want to reveal more about yourself.” —AV

#5.  ….And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Worlds Apart (2005): Part sledgehammer, part prog-rock masterpiece, World’s Apart is no doubt a love it/hate it type-album; I fall into the former category.  The reasons for this divisiveness are obvious.  First, a concept album is bound to cull some hatred.  Secondly, on this their second full-length album,  the Austin-based art-rock outfit offers up a few zingers like the random waltz “To Russia My Homeland.” A song that seems grossly out of step with the general direction of the rest of the album.  Of course, it may just be the general pomposity of the album, typified most notably by the opener “Ode to Isis” which includes the repeated chanting of Egyptian mythological characters.  But then all of these brief steps off the usual path are by design and they reflect a general songwriting ambition that is bound to elicit some hisses.  In the end however, the record is a tour de force of epic, stadium sized prog-rock with  big choruses and lots of guitars.  Songs like “Caterwaul” recall some of the greatest moments of 90’s alt-rock I can remember.  No doubt Worlds Apart is a brave undertaking that should not be discarded solely on the basis of its own bravado.

Faves: World’s Apart, Caterwaul, Let it Dive

Listen: http://www.lala.com/#album/432627039263848490/…And_You_Will_Know_Us_by_the_Trail_of_Dead/Worlds_Apart

More: http://www.trailofdead.com/

(soundtrack: Will you smile again?-And you will know us by the trail of dead)

Preferisco i bar che mettono i portatovaglioli di plastica sui tavolini.
Quelli aperti nelle gallerie sopraelevate dei centri commerciali, dove si possono spiare le tette a commesse di intimo in magliette rosse e attillate, troppo occupate ad allestire la vetrina per notarti.
Ambra scura e profili perfetti di bellezza del subcontinente indiano.
Di solito tendo ad assumere un atteggiamento circospetto.
Giusto per vedere quanto ci mette il vigilante a puntarmi.
Sorseggiando una bevanda colorata di moderato effetto euforizzante, sorrido ad una bimba appollaiata su un carrello vuoto.
La mamma, impegnata al cellulare, scruta la vetrina di un negozio di scarpe in saldo.
La bimba ricambia.
E mi fa ciao ciao con la manina.
Intanto, pensieri furtivi e fremebondi sul declino della civiltà occidentale.
Tutto il caravanserraglio si agita e vocifera, sterco di cammello e patatine fritte, aste di organi e trapianti di coscienza, dollari, rubli, rupie, yuan, sterline svalutate. Cartilagini e sistemi di valori triturati, concetti presi a prestito da teologie desuete mentre ci imbocchiamo con le mani, schizzi di unto e idrocarburi lungo il mento come lacrime di rugiada tossica, e la maschera antigas ci dona un’espressione attonita.
Cittadini insettiformi di una metropoli ancora in costruzione.
Il tramonto dell’Occidente.
Hai la certezza di esserci in mezzo quando, sugli espositori di un negozio di articoli da regalo, cominci a vedere cartellini con cifre inaccettabili appese a oggetti come una molletta fermacarte.
Nulla di diverso da quelle mollettine da scrivania. Quelle che si usano per tenere i fasci di post-it dove appuntarsi i numeri di telefono, i numeri di fax, gli appuntamenti dal dentista, i chilometri del cambio d’olio e le cene dalla suocera assieme ai biglietti da visita dei ristorantini simpatici e agli scontrini per i rimborsi spese a piè di lista.
Undici euro
Intanto, dall’altoparlante, una voce da dj, squillante ed impostata, mi augura una buona serata e buoni acquisti.
Un porta salviette. Quattro barrette di metallo fuse assieme. Cromate, d’accordo, ma sempre quattro barrette quattro fissate ad una base di legno che la sposterebbe il soffio di un nonnetto enfisematico.
Quattro barrette quattro.
Quattordici euro.
Che ne so, magari sono i porta salviette che usano sugli Shuttle.
Probabilmente testati nella galleria del vento della Nasa.
Io accenno ad una smorfia buffa.
E lei sorride ancora, bionda e bianca.
Tenera ed ingenua.
Uno scopino per il cesso.
Trentadue euro.
Ma è un oggetto di design, ti fanno osservare.
Con quel tono saccente da persone mediamente di mondo.
Ho capito, ma sono trentadue euro.
E chi ce l’ha il coraggio di usarlo?
Tu trentadue euro li pucceresti nel cesso dopo averci cagato?
Forse la mamma mi ha notato. Sbuffando al cellulare, ha voltato bruscamente la testa nella mia direzione.
Proprio mentre mi producevo nel mio cavallo di battaglia.
Punta della lingua su punta del naso, occhi forzatamente spalancati, pollici ed indici a tirare con forza i lobi delle orecchie verso l’esterno
Insomma, dico, trentadue euro.
Saranno le setole.
Magari passo pure per pedofilo.
Sì. Sì.
Le setole.
Perché il manico è di volgare, anche se ben stampata e profilata, plastica colorata.
Uguale al forchettone delle pentoline che usava mia nipote a 6 anni.
Devono essere le setole.
Brucia pervertito brucia.
La gola tagliata.
Ma prima ti infilano su un palo.
Non troppo acuminato.
Più che trafiggere e bucare deve spappolare e sfondare organi e tessuti.
E poi ti danno fuoco.
Ci deve essere una motivazione logica e razionale.
Il tramonto dell’Occidente.
Manuali coreani di marxismo leninismo.
Jihad luterane e pentecostali.
Armi neurochimiche e defoglianti psichici.
Luci scure
(Cata)clisma opaco.
Odore di carne bruciata e di giustizia divina.
E uno scopino per il cesso con le setole in pelo di Panda

Building on the post below,  This pop talk is a selfish opportunity for me to showcase a song that is great and pop-like.

I like it when pop is loud-ish.

… And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead – Let it Dive

It’s been about 2 years since I’ve heard this song.  This song is one of those songs.  Zing those songs dot com, Chris DePaul and 1 other reader of said website.

First, a great rock anthem has to religiously exercise the inner air drummer demons out of me.   Not always that difficult, but this song makes me feel like the conductor of a Dave Grohl rock opera, and that is simply a beautiful thing.  Second, big and great guitar tone.  That’s some amazing overdrive.  Third, guilty pleasure drum sounds – big, Bonham/Grohl school styles, warm.  Fourth, nothing like big 5ths and octaves to get your blood moving in the morning. You get to get on your stadium anthem shoes, and you get to celebrate a breakup with joy.  Fifth, the end is still well done, and it’s fun.  One of my favourite things to do when listening this song is keeping the quarter note beat when the band drops out at 1:07 through the track.  When it comes back in, you feel like King Midas when everything comes back in on 1.

n.b. needed an edit (!!).

Yes, yes, that must be why they chose such a pretentiously indie name — Portugal. The Man is, in fact, The Man! The Alaskan fourpiece’s show at the Majestic Theatre Thursday night was insistent, pulling you into each and every quirky yet still-rocking guitar riff, folksy moment, keyboard drone, or churning jam. And when the drums revved up and led the band into a full-on, rib-rattling charge, when the bass player leaned back so far his head seemed to knock time on his high-top heels, why, then it was pure rock euphoria!

But this euphoria was over too quickly, about an hour and 15 minutes to be exact, encore included. It wasn’t for lack of love from the audience, who immediately ushered the band out for two more songs and would have gladly had them back for more.

Is the Majestic capping its headliners at 75 minutes!? This is, after all, the second unusually short set in two weeks, an unlucky trend that began with Trail of Dead at the Majestic on Sept. 26.

Call me old-school, but I expect at least an hour-and-a-half of music when I pay for a show, unless it’s some underfed white kids playing hardcore at Usain Bolt hundred-meter pace. What is the meaning of a 75-minute show in a day and age when feature films often run twice that long?

According to my roommate, who saw Portugal again in Milwaukee last night, their set stayed about the same, so this length may just be consistent for this tour.

Nonetheless, Portugal rocked the staid masses Thursday night. My only advice would be to singer/guitarist Jason Baldwin Gourley, who needs to step up and become the stage-swaggering frontman his soulful, fluttering voice demands. His sideways hunching at the mic and back-to-the-audience jamming was only endearing for a song or two; then it seemed to raise the awkward question of social anxiety. Look at Jim Morrison — he didn’t get big until he turned to face his audience. Of course, then he took it a bit too far with the indecent exposure bit, but in rock ‘n’ roll, you have to forget “less is more” — more is more.

Hey look music and videos of what’s going on this week! You might wanna take a listen, and if you like it make it out to one of the shows, or purchase the bands work at your local Record Shop, or one of the fine online retailers.

(do to a bandwidth issue, this post has been moved.)

Monday

Peelander-Z- Lets Go! Karaoke Party!

I’ve got nothing.

Tuesday

The Secret Machines- Atomic Heels (Dark sky remix)

Holy shit a Secret Machines song that’s good! Though I probably just like it because it sounds like Vangelis.

…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead- The Rest Will Fall

[youtbe=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9Iu-af5QMU]
This performance was one of the few times i found myself interested in this band, they obviously have a high energy set, and the musicianship is more the passable, it’s just sometimes I find them so boring.

This is exactly why I hate Metallica.

Wednesday

Starfucker- Girls Just Want To Have Fun (Cyndi Lauper cover)

Starfucker is one of those bands, that their live show is only enhanced by drink specials, the more intoxicated the crowd get’s the more they feed off the bands energy, and the potential for something memorable jumps up about 65%, let’s hope this actually happens, and we’re treated to this cover.

Thursday

nada.

Friday

Cotton Jones- Blood Red Sentimental Blues

I want to write to this, in fact I want to sit on my floor with the TV muted, and roll a joint on the album while contemplating exactly what it is I’m trying to get out of my head.

Wye Oak- I Don’t Feel Young

This terse fuzzy lament over the loss of innocence is begging to be popped into a movie, or played in the background while two hipsters make mistakes.

Saturday

Intelligence- Moon Beeps

This should be more than enough to convenience you to make it over to The Handsome Kitten, make sure you bring ear plugs.

Sunday

Colour Revolt- Mattresses Underwater

This is easily my favorite Colour Revolt song, I used to sit on the bus in Houston staring out the window watching the town pass as this played, it only seemed to come on the rainy days, making the guitar work, and building tone of the lyrics seem especially adapt.

This Trees thing annoys me. Really I hate the way it’s being heralded as the savior of Deep Ellum, despite the fact that the bar is catering to the Firewater set by bringing in bands who are sans radio play, and were popular for like a second in about 1998 (Looking directly at you Powerman 5000, and really who would have thought a Ozzfest band would take their name from a Kinks album.). Seriously, there were 4 news stations there covering it’s opening, Vanilla Ice sold out the place, and various media outlets are have continually gone ape shit with coverage of the places exploits.

The fact of the matter is what John Is does with Parade of Flesh is a thousand times more influential to the “scene” down there then anything Trees has done so far. Seriously, the man tirelessly books a wide variety of quality acts in various clubs in the area, and doesn’t get a quarter of the press that shitty bar gets, and that’s a tragedy.

I’m taking this space to thank John for the hard work, Parade of Flesh continues to book some of the top shows in the area, and it’s much appreciated.

Big week around these parts folks, take a look at the shows, and start making plans to go out.

Monday

Speaking of Parade Of Flesh they giving you Sweedish metal with Burst, Zororoaster and Four Days to Burn at The Lounge On Elm St, not my type of thing, but if you love metal it’s the show for you.

Peelander-Z=Costumes, J-punk, and a righteous good show. The Birthday Suits and Stew! are opening for them at Rubber Gloves. How the hell is Giggle Party no on this bill?

Tuesday

…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Secret Machines and Ume at the Granada Theater.

Fuck Metallica, and their shitty shitty music.

Wednesday

The Starfucker has had multiple lineup changes leading to Deelay Ceelay and Binary Sunrise at  Hailey’s

This months edition of BS Art Fusion features Geistheistler, Piccline and Kyoto. As always it’s at Rubber Gloves.

BlahblahblahThe Get Up Kids apologized for EMOblahblahblahthey are a little full of themselvesblahblahblah they’re at the Granada with Youth Group and Pretty and Nice .

Ben Folds is with the  Dallas Symphony Orchestra at Myerson Symphony Center, I caught something like this in Houston, expect lots of Dates, lots of older people trying to be hip, and a fuck ton of blazers.

Thursday

Sarah Jaffe & Robert Gomez are at Opening Bell Southside.

RTB2, The Hope Trust, Eaton Lake Tonics are at  Dan’s Silverleaf.

Friday

Parade Of Flesh has an excellent show at the City Tavern that features  The Theater Fire, Mimicking Birds and RTB2 you should make it to this one.

Cotton Jones, Wye Oak and The Fox and The Bird are at  The Cavern. It would be nice to know the set times for these two shows, so bouncing back and forth could be attempted.

Also, there will be dancing at the Lounge.

Saturday

Parade Of Flesh’s 1000th show this week has Intelligence, PVC Street Gang , Fungi Girls and Video playing at Dallas’ best DIY venue The Handsome Kitten.

Sunday

Colour Revolt has quite a few fans around Denton with many a band citing them as an influence, should be a who’s who at this show.

links will be up soon.

… And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead played the Madison’s less-than-majestic Majestic Theatre* last night, tickling (and then punching out) the eardrums  of both stout business types in suit coats and waifish hipsters in skinny jeans, swaying like dandelions in the breeze. For those who, like I once did, write off Trail of Dead as some boring death-metal band (it doesn’t help that their MySpace account lists this as their genre), the time is ripe to explore their music, which has truly already matured to near perfection. The band’s name must go down as one of the great travesties of modern music for having earned immediate dismissal of what amounts to an indie-rock band with punkish roots and an art-rock future.

At the outset of the concert, it seemed krautrock-revivalists (think Kraftwerk meets Wolfmother) Secret Machines would steal the show. From the first massive kick-crash combo, minds were instantly numbed by the satanic pleasure being perpetrated on the stage in front of us. The band seemed to have to descended from some dark corner of an unknown galaxy (the unblinking wall of floodlights behind the group was surely — my God, could it really be!? — the outside of their spaceship), a place where Black Sabbath had muzzled its singer for good and given free reign to its hard-rock rave-up tendencies.

What went wrong? Their set went too long. At the first faux-climactic ending, my neighbor and I stupidly turned to each other to congratulate ourselves on the mutual testosterone high of good old-fashioned demonic rock ‘n’ roll, only to find our left ears had been permanently dulled for the evening by drummer Josh Garza’s (the man truly does hit like Bonham!) far-too-liberal crash cymbal use.  By the fifth faux climax, we were outside for a smoke.

I was feeling positively wrung out after Secret Machines’ one-and-a-half hour set, and even more so by the time Trail of Dead hit the stage at 11:30, two-and-a-half hours after showtime. I’m still not sure where to place the blame; Secret Machines may have been simply hotdogging it up, or they might have been covering for the late-arriving Trail of Dead. Although the whirring squall of guitars and drums (many songs feature two drummers) were boosted by live amplification, singer Conrad Keely’s reedy voice cut through the wall to carry the melody in harmony with the band’s always-tasty keyboard lines. New songs like “Isis Unveiled” and “Bells of Creation,” no doubt subconsciously crafted by an experienced band to sound just as good in live performance, were the gems of the set.

Otherwise, Trail of Dead focused on older punkish material that doesn’t highlight its gift for melody. Notably and lamentably absent was material from their kick-ass album So Divided. The band seemed to be holding back, keeping their set disappointingly short. So while I’d tell the band to, “Start a little earlier, for chrissakes!,” I’d also tell you music fans out there to pick up their last two albums, So Divided and Century of Self, in that order.

*****

To be fair, I should note that the Majestic is doing well going into the third year of new ownership after its makeover in the fall of 2007, which was prompted by a police crackdown following two shootings and a stabbing.  Although a small venue, the multilevel mixed table-seating and standing in the concert hall provide much more flexibility than the Barrymore’s immense bank of cinema seating, for example.  And the place has a huge number of national acts coming through, despite its size; I’m seeing Portugal. The Man there next week.  Much better to have these acts on the isthmus rather than out in Atwood … But the place still feels a little too so-fresh-and-so-clean for a concert venue.

Many thanks to Conrad from…Trail of Dead for pointing this out. His comment: “Can’t we grow trees on ALL the buildings…” Lovely concept, isn’t is?

Here are a few shots from this afternoon at The Cutting Room with …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead.

To see complete set of photos click here

…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead w/ Secret Machines @ The First Unitarian Church

Mos Def Presents: The Ecstatic Tour w/ Jay Electronica and Talib Kwali @ The Electric Factory

Ingrid Michaelson @ Theatre of Living Arts

And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – Naked Sun

Secret Machines – Sad And Lonely 

Click HERE to purchase tickets to the show at the 1st Uni.

…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead played at the Masquerade, here in Atlanta, on Monday night.  I wasn’t able to make the show, but seeing that they were touring drew my attention to the fact that the band released a new album, their first full-length since So Divided in 2006.  The new disc, aptly title The Century of Self was released in February of 2009, to little fanfare.

Trail of Dead’s sound is incredibly hard to describe.  They float somewhere in the space between post-punk (with some striking similarities to The Refused), post-rock instrumental (think Mogwai or Explosions in the Sky), indie-alternative (sounds like The Black Angels) and some new category that has yet to be named, but might just be the future of rock music.

I was a huge fan of Red Tags and Source Codes (2002) and a slightly less exuberant but still genuine fan of So Divided (2006) and was excited about the prospect of new music from this incredibly inventive group.  On first listen to The Century of Self, I was a little dismayed at what at first sounded like “Trail of Dead Unplugged”.  The recording style is fairly different from the band’s previous releases and it took me a few tracks to get past this, but once I did I was able to hear an album that while certainly not as brilliant as I was hoping for, is definitely solidly written and performed. 

Century of Self contains the same fiery anthems and soaring instrumentation of  the previous albums and the balance of hook-laden choruses and challengingly creative scoring.  The drum lines are palpable and the background choruses are as majestic as ever, but despite some particularly excellent tracks, such as “Isis Unveiled” and “Fields of Coal” the album as a whole falls flat.  All of the components were there, but some of the raw energy and awe were somehow missing.

I still expect great things from this band, but they need to push past the rut they seem to have fallen into and create the brilliant album of which we all know they are capable.

Midnight Masses is an ever-expanding collective of mostly Brooklyn-based artists, led and formed by Autry Fulbright in the wake of his father’s untimely death in 2008. On any given night the band could be a lean ensemble of its core members or an imposing 14-piece collection of string players, organists, and guests pulled from any number of Brooklyn’s finest bands – including Trail of Dead’s Kevin Allen, Jason Reece and Conrad Keely, TV on the Radio’s Gerard Smith and Jaleel Bunton, the bewitching Katie Eastburn, Peter Hale of Here We Go Magic, and more. Midnight Masses is preparing to gather once again for Rapture Ready, I Gazed At The Body, their debut EP, set for release on November 10th via Collect Records.

09/16 9:30 Club – Washington, DC*
09/18 Webster Hall (w/ String Septet) – New York City, NY*
09/21 Paradise – Boston, MA*
09/30 Union Pool (w/ Rose Parade) – Brooklyn, NY
10/19 Edge 17 – Jacksonville, FL**
10/20 Revolution – Ft. Lauderdale, FL**
10/21 State Theater – Tampa, FL**
10/22 The Social – Orlando, FL**
10/23 Masquerade – Atlanta, GA**
10/24 Lincoln Theater – Raleigh, NC**
10/25 Bowery Ballroom – New York City, NY**

* – w/ Trail of Dead and Secret Machines
** – w/ Thursday

What the hell happened to this band?

I may have to post an old song from them because this sounds like they rented a house from Liam Howlett and made the mistake of letting him come by while they were recording.

I’m not trying to talk shit. I really wanted to post a kick ass Trail song and thought why not give this brand new video some love. But WTF is up with the “In Search Of….” graphics going on.

This is bumming me out worse than a teeth-j.

The “Six Mix” is another new section of the blog. I’m going to try my best to make it a weekly or at least a fortnightly thing. It’s going to be a selection of 5 random songs that i happen to be listening to and one video. Totalling up to 6 tracks in all, hence, the Six Mix. The artists will range from A Perfect Circle to Zombie Nation (thats just a fancy way of saying A to Z) and many more inbetween, just whatever takes my fancy at the time really. Oh yeah and the title of the post will be a mash up of the bands or songs i’m posting about. eg. A Picture Trail Of Fake Vitriolic Neon Heartbeats includes a segment of all the featured bands from this specific post. And don’t worry all future “Six Mix” posts won’t have all this babble at the beginning, they’ll be straight to the point with the 5 songs and a video.

Here goes nothing….making onto the first “Six Mix” are…..

My Vitriol looking slightly pissed off

MP3: My Vitriol – War Of The Worlds

MP3: Pictureplane – Goth Star

MP3: Faker – This Heart Attack

MP3: And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – Mistakes & Regrets

MP3: Breakbeat Heartbeat – As The Snowfalls

VIDEO: Johnny Neon – Laser Kill

S.I.T Wolf X

Click below for…

Mp3

Keine langweilige Routine

Im Februar erschien ihr neustes Album “The Century of Self” auf dem eigens gegründeten Label Richter Scale. Mit dem Konzert in Bochum gaben ... And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead ihr letztes Deutschlandkonzert im Rahmen ihrer Tour. Eine letzte Gelegenheit die neuen Lieder live zuhören.

Doch voll war es im Konzertsaal der Zeche Bochum nicht. Hier und da standen Leute an der Bar oder an den bereit gestellten Tischen. Wieder andere saßen auf der Treppe im hinteren Abschnitt des Raumes. Eine schwierige Startvoraussetzung also für die Vorband  What Happened To Roy G. Biv, mit der die fünf Jungs aus Köln und Umgebung aber ohne Probleme klar kamen. Bei manchen Konzerten fragt man sich, wie es zur Auswahl des Supportes kam, hier entgegen passte alles. 30 Minuten dynamischer Alternativ Rock, der entfernt nach The Mars Volta klang. Das vorgetragen von einer spielfreudigen Band mit sympathischen Sänger der voller Elan zum Mikrophon griff, während im Hintergrund Lied für Lied die Saiteninstrumente getauscht wurden. Der gut geregelte Sound half wesentlich dabei, dass What Happened To Roy G. Biv auch nach dem Hauptact in guter Erinnerung bleiben sollte, was durchaus eine Herausforderung war.

Nach  kurzer Umbaupause betraten … And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead , begleitet von leichtem Klavierspiel, die Bühne. Gelassen fanden sie sich an ihren Instrumenten ein, um  sich mit dem instrumentalen Stück „Giants Causeway“ einzustimmen. Schon die ersten Töne der Band machten klar, was die Zuschauer  an diesem Abend erwartete: Musik, die einen ganz auszufüllen verstand und das nicht nur dank der lauten Bässe.
Ein kurzes Bangen beim zweiten Song „Far Pavillions“, bei dem der Sound etwas stumpf klang, sollte spätestens beim darauf folgenden Lied zunichte gemacht werden. Der Mann hinter dem Mischpult verstand sein Handwerk und sorgte ab sofort für den perfekten Klang. Zuvor bat Conrad Keely die Zuschauer, die immer noch an den Tischen vor der Bühne standen, näher heran zu treten. Bereitwillig wurde Folge geleistet.
„It Was There That I Saw You“ vom hochgelobten Album „Source Tags & Codes“ stand als nächstes … >>>weiterlesen!

• Friday, July 24: Today is National Tequila Day! Mad Dog & Beans in the Financial District is handing out the agave spirit for free if you RSVP here, although if you have the dough, also check out Mayahuel for well-made tequila and mezcal cocktails.
• Sunday, July 26: In celebration of July Good Beer Month, Bike to the Bars encourages cyclists to roll together from one crafty beer bar to the next. Meet at d.b.a. Brooklyn at 2 p.m.
• Sunday, July 26: …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, an epically melodic Texas band, performs on the Williamsburg waterfront. Show starts at 2 p.m. with Black Lips, HEALTH, and Grupo Fantasma, at East River State Park, 90 Kent Ave. (at N. 8th St.) Free.
• Sunday, July 26: 3rd Ward is turning 200 pounds of hog into pork tacos for all at its 2nd Annual Pig Roast and Dance Party. A $9 plate will get you two tacos and two sides, and there will be drink specials at well. The event goes from 4 to 9 p.m. at 195 Morgan Ave., Bushwick. RSVP events@3rdward.com

We kennen ze nu ……And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. Van alle voorgaande bands, die ik de afgelopen week in het Patronaat heb zien passeren, is …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead het meest songgericht. De liedjes zijn kunstig verpakt in een draaikolk van aan elkaar geplakte muziekbouwsels. Bombastische gitaardrones en andere psychedelische elementen worden op hoog volume toegevoegd aan de composities Deze door Jason Reece (zang, slagwerk, gitaar) en Conrad Keely (zang, keyboard, gitaar) gedragen muziekconstructies worden verder op het podium omlijst door een tweede slagwerker, die beestachtige tribal ritmes produceert, een dominant vette basgitarist, die het voor elkaar bokst zijn zwaarste basnaar op de “trail of dead” te zetten, een derde gitarist, die verfijnd gruizige elementaire akkoordreeksen toevoegt, en een toetsenist, die de songstructuren aanstuurt.

Vlak voor het concert spreek ik Conrad Keely. Een gedreven muzikant en beeldend kunstenaar. Veel grafisch werk van Keely siert de hoezen van de …….And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead CD uitgaven. De gedetailleerde pentekeningen van Keely zijn gesigneerd te koop tijdens de concerten van de band. Keely, evenals zijn medestrijder Reece, zijn zeer gepassioneerde mannetjes. Ze zijn één en al betrokkenheid, stoppen volop energie in hun bezigheden en slaan een verbintenis met hun publiek. Een totaal verschil met hetgeen een band als Neurosis uitstraalt. Op het punt waar …….And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead aan een feestje bouwt, breekt Neurosis een feestje af. Dus voor, tijdens en na het concert geraken we eensgezind in een vorm van extase, die ons de weg wijst richting……..

In het Patronaat verzorgt de band een furieus en oorverdovend optreden. Het totaalgeluid is niet vergelijkbaar met hun album uitgaven. “Live” breekt bij …….And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead de hel los. Nog nooit heb ik tijdens een concert zoveel snaren zien breken. Al bij de eerste tonen van “The Giants Causeway/The Far Pavilions” bindt Conrad Keely de strijd aan met een gebroken snaar. Jason Reece wisselt voortdurend van instrument. Zijn inbreng op gitaar en slagwerk straalt een enorme intensiteit uit. Zijn adrenaline klettert regelrecht op de vellen van zijn trommels. Het wordt een rituele slachting van het gehele oeuvre. Tussen de geluidsmuren door horen we flarden “Isis” en “Caterwaul” (2005). Brother Keely zoekt verkoeling, vindt verkoeling bij de bar en terug op het podium verwijst hij zijn clubgenoten naar het genot dat daar achter in de zaal wacht. Maar zijn groepsgenoten willen geen rust, geen verkoeling en razen door tot aan de toegiften “Gargoyle Waiting” (nog openingsnummer tijdens hun vorige bezoek aan het Patronaat) en “Totally Natural”. We kennen ze dus nu echt! Mijn advies: blijf het verpulverde drumstokjesspoor van …….And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead volgen.

Tussen de overdaad aan zomerfestivals door maakt het Patronaat handig gebruik van de rondtoerende artiesten en bands. Zo passeren tijdens deze zomerperiode in één week tijd vier topacts op het gebied post-rock en post-metal: Mogwai, Neurosis, 65daysof static en ….And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. Deze bands hebben als overeenkomst dat ze op bepaalde momenten een muur van geluid kunnen neerzetten. De uitgangspunten, uitstraling en muzikale resultaten zijn alleen totaal verschillend. Het siert het Patronaat dat ze ondanks het zomerreces de regio trakteren op dit brede scala aan bands.

Het Vlaamse Amen Ra moet het publiek warm maken voor het hoofdprogramma. Het past uitstekend binnen de hokjesgeest. Alleen blijft Amen Ra hangen in het “van dik hout zaagt men planken”. Bij aanvang van de nummers is enige spanning te ervaren, daarna wordt in het vervolg elk avontuur vermeden. Tijdens het openingsnummer geven de subtiele tempowisselingen dat kleine stukje extra. Maar verder is de presentatie sober, introvert (muzikanten en zanger staan meestentijds met de rug naar publiek) en zijn de gitaarmuren voorspelbaar en standaard. Bij de doom-metal invulling van Amen Ra zijn hokjesgeesten dodelijk voor het creëren van eigenzinnige muziek. Hetgeen trouwens geldt voor ieder willekeurig muziekgenre.

Van een geheel ander kaliber zijn de verrichtingen van Neurosis. Vooral is het de grote variatie in tempo, sfeerwisselingen en uitstraling waarin de band uitblinkt. Zo is de muziek moeilijk in het juiste hokje te plaatsen. De één ervaart het als post-metal de ander als punk-metal en weer een ander als doom-metal. Welk etiket je er opplakt doet er eigenlijk niet toe. Neurosis is intens en gedoseerd loeihard. Ik kies (ben uiteindelijk de recensent) bij deze voor de term tribal-metal. Waar de band echter ook in uitblinkt is de agressieve houding naar publiek. Zo ligt de staalbewerking voor henzelf en de fans zwaar op de maag. We kennen allemaal de scheidsrechters die een wedstrijd totaal dood kunnen fluiten. Zo ook bij het optreden van dit Amerikaanse vijftal. Vanuit de overtuiging van hun vakkundigheid hebben ze de pretentie te kunnen sollen met het publiek. Publiekseigendommen die voor op het podium liggen worden de zaal ingetrapt, het publiek wordt bespuugd en bij de eerste beste flash van een camera springt Neurosis en aanhang uit de metalen huid. Ze doen daarmee hun naam eer aan, maar het tast wel de intimiteit en intensiteit van het zaalgebeuren aan.