Live Review: Weekend @ Black Cat, 4/7/2011

When you're in a band, there are all sorts of ways to gauge how awesome you are. One such indicator is if/when a monster of legendary musical status wants to take you on tour with them. So then, Weekend, I think it's safe to say you're pretty dang awesome, seeing as how you just spent some time with a little band called Wire. Now, y'all already know how in love I am with recorded Weekend, and thankfully I was able to (despite the best efforts of the parking gods who wished to thwart me) catch the vast majority of Weekend's opening set for Wire at the Black Cat. And while I know it'll be hard to believe, I'm also head over heels for live Weekend, too. Here's why.

I could already hear the intense, agonizing strains of "Coma Summer" as I inched my way closer up the line to the doors of the Black Cat. The crackling distortion got gloriously louder with each step as I ascended the stairs and got close to the action. By the end of the song I already knew I was in for a good time, so much were my insides pulsating and vibrating along with the soundwaves coming from the stage. Interestingly, live the band's sound was less polished and more unhinged than on record. It was a set teetering precariously on the edge, and it worked wonders on songs both familiar and new to my ears.

"Veil" was particularly noteworthy, a knockout with the scratchingly fuzzed bassline in the intro even more blissful than on Sports. Most of said record found a way into the set, but the new songs were right at home amongst the intoxicating noise. Also in the set and sounding amazing were my current favorite "End Times," "Age Class," and "Monday Morning." Banter was scarce, but fit the creeping, gloomy mood of the set.

The set came to its' end with an unbelievable, spooky little rendition of "Untitled," one of the most haunting of all Weekend songs. The moaning vocals and deep, dark bassline gave me chills, my friends. They were the perfect choice to precede Wire, and I'm so glad to have been able to see both bands on the same bill. To experience Weekend live is to be drawn softly and tenderly into that dark velvet opiate curtain of the blackest of black nights, surrounded by darkness and ghosts but loving every single minute and ending up clamoring for more.

mp3: End Times (Weekend from Sports)

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