The show last Sunday, August 24, ended in a back lot under a mess of blue smoke, fireworks, and bubbles after Friends Forever finished playing, a fitting finale for a band known for putting on memorable performances. The Denver trio played behind the Aftermath Gallery and their van was a tangle of complicated homemade contraptions, but it all came together somehow as sparks shot off the keyboardist's backpack, the bassist attacked the crowd with an inflated ball, and the drummer played inside the van behind a set of party lights and a smoke machine, all of which was enough to bring the cops--luckily after the set finished. The band followed two local metal acts, one of which, Cephied, I'd never heard before, but despite the lack of working vocals--and eventually the lack of a working bass--they sounded great.
Malfunctioning equipment seemed to be the theme of the week, as all the mics crapped out at the joint birthday party for Jeff from Tyco Party and Sean Wood from the Spits at the Mars Bar last Wednesday, August 20. Two surprise openers jumped on that bill: one combo that included frontman Brown and drummer Mario from the Girls doing Richard Hell-sounding rock numbers, and a second act that contained another reversioning of the Girls--Mario and guitarist Zache, along with a couple friends suited up in shiny jackets and sunglasses, well costumed for their trashy, synth-heavy glam act--called the Warm Jets. Rumor has it the Jets plan to strike again soon, so keep an ear out.
Looking ahead, noisemaker John Wiese (Bastard Noise, Sissy Spacek) is coming to CoCA on Thursday, August 28, and for those already razoring your ears on acts like Wolf Eyes and Holy Molar, here's another name that'll inflict some damage. Wiese constructs works of sonic violence from power tools and more traditional machines like laptops, and the tracks I've heard sound like the inside of an auto plant, a cat fight in a wind tunnel, or using a giant vacuum to clean your ears. Static aggression channeled to its sharpest edge.
