Friday February 18, 2011
Stonefly Brewing Company
Milwaukee, WI
with Wolf Eyes, Envenomist, Juiceboxxx, and Mildew
BLOODYMINDED:
James Moy - Synth + Vocals
David Reed - Synth
Pieter Schoolwerth - Synth
Mark Solotroff - Vocals + Synth
Saturday February 19, 2011
The Abbey Pub
Chicago, IL
with Frontier, Wolf Eyes, Envenomist, and Plague Bringer
BLOODYMINDED:
Heber Burguete - Synth
James Moy - Synth + Vocals
David Reed - Synth
Isidro Reyes - Synth + Vocals
Pieter Schoolwerth - Synth
Mark Solotroff - Vocals + Synth
Set List:
01. In The Mood
02. Lake Street
03. Porn Lords
04. As If
05. Angel Of Darkness
06. Outside The Gate
07. Mind The Gap
08. Head
09. Shivery
10. Pro-Ana
11. Genital Panic
12. Two Drops Of Blood
13. Leak
14. Within The Walls
15. Chinatown
16. Cost
17. Visiting An Ex-Girlfriend In The Hospital - AIDS Ward
18. Trophy
Does the fact that three more Korg Monotrons and one more Roland MC-202 are non-functional say anything about the sort of weekend that just passed? It is a hint. BLOODYMINDED felt like it was in maximum action mode for these two amazing nights in Milwaukee and Chicago. We were stacked up in such incredible line-ups that we had to deliver a couple of our most full-on sets.
In Milwaukee, Mildew kicked off the night right with a dark, murky dose of psychedelic noise... it had been ages since I last saw/heard a Mildew set, so it was great to share the stage with them. And then, to make sure that people understood that this was a party, not just a show, the energy level was kicked up about 20 notches with an over-the-top set by Juiceboxxx. It has unfortunately been nearly eight years since we last played with this guy and it is clear what a great match we are on certain levels. The most vulgar comparison to use for him would be early Beastie Boys meets Andrew WK. Hi-energy party rap... whatever... the room was alive and well. And then... Envenomist came on and flipped the world back into ice age mode with his frozen, underwater synth tones. And the crowd was with him, every step of the way. Transfixed. I have said it many times before, but I could watch Envenomist over and over and over again. David then stripped down his set-up to one Roland MC-202 (there might as well have been a big target on it -- but it survived, do not worry) and he joined BLOODYMINDED for our spirited set. The 18 songs seemed to go by in a flash, even with all of the gear abuse and physical abuse. What more can I say about our Milwaukee crowds and our Milwaukee friends. Can't we all live in one city together? The energy and the mood really helped us deliver the type of set that we have owed Milwaukee for several years. Long overdue. Sorry for the wait. First song in Milwaukee... Yes, Pieter was in the mood. Swinging his little synth like Roger Daltrey's microphone... Except Daltrey always had an entire fucking roll of tape holding his mic to the chord. We were not so thorough, and the synth went flying into the audience. Luckily, we have learned to travel with back-ups (but they are all gone now). Our thanks go out to the kind young lady who found the Monotron on the floor and brought it back to the stage. Wolf Eyes were up next and they proceeded to creep into the dark and dangerous zone that I remember from their show last year at The Viaduct Theater with Anatomy of Habit -- before bringing out some of the most pummeling aspects of their live mode and crushing the crowd with beats, frequencies, and tortured, throaty moans and groans.
Milwaukee was quite a night, overall. Stonefly is a perfectly-sized spot to play with the ideal stage for BLOODYMINDED to play on. Wide, deep, and with a great launch pad... err... drum-riser. The staff there was really nice and easy-going, too. The PA seemed quite substantial, capable of capturing a full range of frequencies, as required. Thanks to sound guy Alex for the solid work. Great stage mix by James, too. The recording of our set sounds intense...
A heartfelt thanks to all of our friends up there who came out to see us, to support the show, and to celebrate my birthday with me. And thanks for singing to me! What a fucking killer night!!! James did a fantastic job of organizing and promoting what was a really perfect show. Thanks also go to Mike Mildew for his work on kicking the event into gear.
Low key party mode back at James' house with some friends and acquaintances... Where the hell were those pizzas that we ordered? A short night. Comfortably numb in a very warm room, thankfully. A confusing coffee maker. Olson started off the day's musical tone with the score from Nekromantik. Yep, a suitably weird choice. Then it was off to Trocadero for a really tasty brunch before the (almost) easy drive back to Chicago. A homestretch traffic jam meant a quick shower and turnaround was necessary before the early call at The Abbey Pub.
Saturday night was not just full-on whore mode for me, as David got to deflect some of the sticky wetness that comes with that territory. Plague Bringer kicked off the night in furious style, launching into a crushing version of "Impaled Faith" that was the perfect opening salvo for the night. David and I both hit the stage for a really nice duel-Roland MC-202 augmented version of the newer/unreleased epic Plague Bringer song, "One Into Parts," which I have guested on a few times before. I screamed so long and hard at one point that I nearly blacked out. Not smart, considering what was ahead. After Greg and Josh cleared off their mighty PA, and after David battened down the hatches on his equipment, BLOODYMINDED dragged our ailing set-up to the center of the stage and all systems were pretty much "go." It was one of those gotta-go-for-it nights and we opened up both barrels, happily with Isidro adding synth and vocals, along with our secret weapon and security associate Heber on synth. Fuck, if only Xavier could have been there... It would have been beyond historic... Anyhow, it was loud, it was physical... I am still all bruised up, like some battered housewife. Pieter pulled out all of the stops, eventually climbing up on James' synth/mixer table and proceeding to illustrate "Within The Walls" with carefully timed tugs on the massive projection screen that was just within his reach. Thankfully, that did not end up going south, as it easily could have. Frontier may have a fog machine but we have disgusting dust clouds! We charged through our set as fast and hard and loud as we could, before turning the stage over to David, for his third set of the night. And holy fuck, Envenomist over The Abbey Pub's PA was like an extra birthday present. Perfect! What a hat trick of a night it was for David. Hell yes! Then Wolf Eyes set up and they proceeded to destroy. I have to say that the version of "Always Wrong" that they performed on Saturday night was one of the single most impressive Wolf Eyes moments that I have ever seen/heard. It was simply devastating. Nate was on fire and his vocals were the most extreme that I have ever heard them. Amazing! After a cooling down period, Frontier set up, and the opened with their crowd pleasing bruiser, "Truck," complete with 18-wheeler on a foggy night smoke + halogen lights + air horns. I jumped up to sing the same three songs that I did with them back in September (thank you, gents!) before they moved through their serpentine set of noise rock, dubbed-out post-rock, and otherwise unclassifiable forms of experimentation. For me, this was just one of those nights that came together perfectly. Sharing the stage with so many friends who make some of my very favorite music... I could not ask for much more...
A big thanks to all of our friends who came out to join in the fun and grind and noise! Thanks to Sean at The Abbey Pub for hosting the show. Thanks to our friend Matt for keeping the sound loud and clear all night. The same goes to Che Arthur, for Frontier's set and to my band mate Kenny Rasmussen for Plague Bringer's set. After a long, slow breakdown, we made our way over to Pozoleria San Juan for a late night banquet, before heading back to Garfield Park to crash.
The weekend was bookended by several great nights with friends... Delicious dinner and drinks at Blokes & Birds, an all-dayer at Kuma's Corner (I experienced the bacon-fest that is the Earthride), the excellent Mueran Humanos show at Crown Tap Room (their new LP on Blind Prophet is a must), late-night Noise Crush meets Taylor Swift (behind the scenes, of course)/Rihanna YouTube sessions to explain the finer points to some lady friends who had not yet come to terms. What was up with that text to land line weirdness? Pieter flew out early on Monday, after I discovered some of my furniture had been re-arranged by James. Buy why??? A lunch of wild boar Sloppy Joes at Longman & Eagle sort of closed out the extended party, and then we had to say goodbye to David. One more band dinner (Thai comfort food) with James, before Isidro and I crawled off to the practice space (groan) to do work, prior to The Fortieth Day + Noise Crush playing on March 15, which is coming up fast. By the end of Tuesday night's Anatomy of Habit practice, my ears and my psyche had pretty much had it. I need a little more downtime before Friday's Anatomy of Habit show with Running and Bottomless Pit... If I think of anything else, I will let you know...
