A-Frames
Headache City
BLOODYMINDED
21 August 2010
The Empty Bottle
Chicago, IL
BLOODYMINDED
Margaret Chardiet (Pharmakon) - Keyboard, Vocals
James Moy - Synth, Vocals, Live Mix
Isidro Reyes - Synth, Vocals
Pieter Schoolwerth - Synth
Mark Solotroff - Vocals, Synth
01. LAKE STREET
02. TROPHY
03. WITHIN THE WALLS
04. IN THE MOOD
05. ANGEL OF DARKNESS
06. PORN LORDS
07. A SONG FOR LISANNE, A YOUNG MODEL
08. MIND THE GAP
09. LEAK (CADAVER IN DRAG)
10. GENITAL PANIC
11. PRO-ANA
12. NOW IT IS A PRIVATE THING
13. TWO DROPS OF BLOOD
14. VISITING AN EX-GIRLFRIEND IN THE HOSPITAL – AIDS WARD
15. OUTSIDE THE GATE
16. CHINATOWN
Very rare, indeed. From a technical standpoint, the night was flawless --- and with everything on the line due to us using the new Korg Monotron synths - and running them through FX pedals --- and just for context, our last show with pedals was No Fun Fest 2005, which was a glorious clusterfuck --- let alone adding a new person (Margaret) into the mix with her keyboard. Of course, James handled the live mix in a masterful way, and everything came through loud and clear and Pieter managed not to get tangled up in the FX wires... just my mic cords and all of our synth cables. I actually forgot that I had a synth set-up on stage, and I only noticed/remembered at the end of the set, as I was too wrapped up in the performance. The not-exactly-unfamiliar set was designed to flow easily and quickly and to keep the crowd participation at a high, which it did. We tore through the 16 songs in under half an hour and the recordings of the show sound pretty fucking great. Aside from all of the people who were there to see A-Frames and Headache City, we had a really nice group of friends who came out early to support us, not to mention a decent-sized crew who took some time out to come down from the festival being held at the Viaduct Theater, so we had a pretty active pit in front of us. There was a humorous mix of bodies flying around, including Alex from Climax Denial, Ted from Twodeadsluts Onegoodfuck, and Dave Phillips (Schimpfluch-Gruppe/Fear of God) who was in town for the festival. Nice! Of course, the focal point for us all was the new song ("Now It Is A Private Thing") that Margaret and I had specially prepared for the show. James took over on her keyboard, allowing her to step up front with me, and she immediately began to stare me down in the most disarming manner. The atmosphere was completely electrifying... chilling, really... and it made my delivery - at least - all the much more effective. We have been getting such amazingly positive feedback over the last few days, particularly about the new song -- and it is clear that we need to record it with her in the studio ASAP. Overall, the layers of Pieter, Isidro, and James' synths combined with Margaret's keyboard chords, sounded fantastic. And just when songs needed an extra push, Isidro and James were there with their strong and contrasting vocals. I did not end up too bruised or sore afterward, so I am not sure if that means Pieter went easy on me or if I just managed to dodge him better than I usually do, but I will take it. Isidro had to jet back to work right away, which was a shame, and Margaret headed to the Viaduct, but the rest of us spent the night between the Bottle and one of the Polish bars down the street where a large group of friends had gathered. It was funny to have the poppier of the two bands follow us, but Headache City tore through a set that somehow took in the melodic style of The Jam, maybe, with a heavy dose of Misfits swagger and structure... weird... ultra-catchy. Insane drumming action! No synth on Saturday, though. Even with a blown guitar amp (we saw smoke!), A-Frames soldiered through a deep set of dark, snarky, and paranoid songs that painted a very grim picture of our future. Ultra-minimalistic Gang of Four structures, Joy Division textures, and J.G. Ballard-influenced storytelling. I would like to see them paired with Daily Void someday. At one point, I was reminded of Special Affect, but my memory of that LP is extremely fuzzy, as I sold it years ago during Wax Trax! fever at Bleecker Bob's, so who knows??? A big THANKS to Margaret for playing with us. Thanks to all of our friends for the excellent support. Thanks to Wes for shooting video. Holy god, the slow motion footage of the song with Margaret is beyond intense! Thanks to The Empty Bottle for having us back, as always, and for the great hospitality. And thanks to Arman for inviting us to play his birthday show. Photos soon, I hope... I saw some good ones.
