The crowd at Gas Monkey Bar n’ Grill on Friday, July 13th was a diverse and a sweaty one. The heat was no match for the guys in Uniform (New York), though! Their onstage energy was off-the-wall, with noticeable Black Sabbath influences in their music. Taking a quick listen before the show, I was quickly transported to the early 90s. I don’t think anyone had a clue what the vocalist was saying, but most of us didn’t care. Their set was a blast – why did it keep bringing me back to Death Grips?
The standing area in front of the stage (and even the stairs!) started to really fill up when it was time for Drab Majesty – another time machine set, but this time to the 80s. Founded in 2011 by Marriages drummer Deb Demure, this group sounds like The Cure’s long lost little sister. I was late to this party and now that I’ve found and experienced them live, they’ve grown on me. It was a decent experience at first listen, but now I’m obsessed. A thank you to Deafheaven – I may have never known about Drab Majesty if it weren’t for them.
One of the upsides of ignoring the genre-snobs is getting taken away mentally by bands like Deafheaven (San Francisco). This was the first night of the Texas series of dates on the tour – the last date being in Phoenix, Arizona and the next in Austin, Texas. They put out a new album, Ordinary Corrupt Human Love, just hours before their set. A lot of the instrumentals in the new stuff I’ve heard reminds me of Radiohead’s OK Computer. Live, the guitar solos induced a feeling of victory, making for an emotional audience and a blissful experience. Oh hey, I’m swaying. Dubbed “hipster black metal” by many, Deafheaven gets a lot of misguided hate. They are innovative and exceptional onstage. The sun had already gone down by the time they played, but the melodies still took everyone to a bright, warm day in a meadow. Pushing boundaries can be a good thing. Though this was a bit of an odd lineup, it made for a masterpiece anyway…that tends to happen at GMBG.
– DeLisa McMurray
– click to enlarge photos –
