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Planets, Silian Rail @ The Bike Kitchen 01/11/08 |
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Friday, January 18 2008 |
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TIGON
SILIAN RAIL
JAPANDI
LANTERNS
PLANETS
The Bike Kitchen
January 11, 2008
Friday night's show at the Bike Kitchen started with the frightening and pummeling onslaught of the band Planets. Planets is a two man band from Napa who play heavy instrumental math and prog rock using drums, bass and some sound effects. They wore full-body white spandex suits and screened creepy videos throughout. Each song featured amazingly technical bass playing that was dark and melodic while the drummer went ballistic on his white-painted kit with a hardcore intensity. Everything was played extremely clean and tight and the audience was staring with slack jaws at the bassist's Steve Vai-style two handed tapping and the drummer's uncanny sense of rhythm as, in a blur, his arms produced incredibly delicate poly-rhythms. The sound effects and visuals during their few quiet moments only created suspense for the next blast of pounding industrial drums and demented frenetic bass.
The Planets pretty nearly stole the show. The band that followed, the Lanterns, had an uphill battle because their emo rock jams couldn't help but sound like a wet noodle compared to the Planets. But they quickly loosened up and the crowd got used to their SoCal party vibe (they'd driven up from San Diego) and they gave a solid performance. Their sound was cool but familiar, shouted lyrics and wall-of-sound guitars that swell to "epic" melodies before fading out. By the time their set finished, the place was packed and the Lantern’s were really happy and grateful to the Bike Kitchen and everyone who came out.
The Bike Kitchen is a rad place with a sweet location. Outside the night was cold and clear and groups of people poured out onto Laskie St, an alley between 8th & 9th off Mission, for a smoke and to chat while still being able to hear the music clearly. It was from out on Laskie St. where I listened to Janpandi, another San Diego group who probably felt their 500 mile drive was worth it to play for such an enthusiastic all-ages crowd. Japandi has an angular guitar-driven sound that's melodic but not in a cheerful way. Their chopped up sound reminded me of the Battles and was probably better suited to match up with Planets.
Silian Rail
It was my first time seeing San Francisco guitar/drums girl/boy duo Silian Rail, the fourth band of the evening. The cinematographers were in full effect with three cameras catching their every move, and that seemed to add a little tension, making Silian Rail work harder to overcome any feelings of self-consciousness. But they had the crowd in awe immediately and just breezed through a flawless set of bluesy soundscapes. They do a sort of Led Zepplin-meets-My Bloody Valentine thing by stretching out blues rock riffs with lots of sustain and texture to give them a dreamy pretty quality, while keeping a rhythmic and melodic edge that they use to ratchet up the intensity of their songs. The guitarist had her guitars tuned to an alternate tuning known as "can't hit a bad note" and she played riffs and melodies that maintained a certain harmonic consistency of mood throughout the set. The drummer kept busy at his kit playing ever-evolving patterns that never seemed to repeat and really helped carry the songs.
It felt like the night was over but in fact it was only ten o'clock and there was still one band left to play. San Francisco's Tigon took the stage and those who came to mosh finally got their wish as the Bike Kitchen's floor filled with the mayhem of a dozen slamming bodies. Moshing certainly keeps audience members attentive, constantly anticipating an errant elbow or falling body. Tigon play hella fast and loud and they scream and knock shit over. It made me think that maybe its time to start getting back to songs with audible lyrics and bubbly melodies that celebrate the joy of being alive, rather than showing off how hard we can hit drums or how loud our amps are.
Overall a killer night! It seemed like some cash was made for the bands and the Bike Kitchen even though they only charge $3 at the door.
[Jeff Bissell]
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[STREAM] Silian Rail: Various Tracks
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Saturday June 28th
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