Sorry for the delay on this posting. I was waiting for photos (my camera crapped out), and then I was playing host this week for some old friends who were visiting. Whew. I had fun but being a tour guide to L.A. can wear a man out!
Anyhow, I’ve hosted a whole mess of record release parties, but this show from 2 weeks ago was very important: Whitman unveiled his 5-years-in-the-making new LP WHITE SUNRISE.
This all-star recording is simply AMAZING… I listened to the whole thing with my Cleveland pals and they were MUCH impressed. Whitman’s songs are haunting, and there is all sorts of tribal drumming and noise backing him up. White Sunrise is as stark and vulnerable as a freshly broken heart.
American Gil & the Major Dudes were the openers on the Whitman LP release show, and they were fucking off the hook. Gil comes careening in on an electric wheelchair-thingy, the band is white-hot and rockin’, the songs were fun and I gotta say, my mind was blown by these mutants. Gotta get them back to Pehr soon!
Lucky Dragons did their sound/video/audience participation performance, and I hope you all got to see it because this is one of the most uncategorizable and magical “groups” around. Between playing at important art shows in cities across the globe, the two Lucky Dragons are down-to-earth L.A. folk who always have something new and exciting to say, whether it’s through their words or their sounds. Bravo!
Dirt Dress are Pehr folk who were just playing their first Sean Carnage Monday Night. They sounded fucking fantastic! Like a blues band populated entirely by spectres, their rustic noize gripped the crowd—body and soul.
PST was, along with Whitman, my absolute favorite of the night. Monday regular Andrew Mackenzie put his Oberlin training to work with a provocative performance in the Pehrspace bathroom utilizing only two metronomes, his voice and the water in the sink. Strange instrumentation, yes! But the techniques were entirely basic… and correspondingly revelatory in their bald simplicity: Andrew chanted and used circular breathing to create sound waves that reinforced and then ran counter to the beat of the metronomes. This simple interaction—slowly going from beat before beat, to beat against beat, to beat after beat—seemed like magic. It was! It takes a perceptive and creative mind to design a performance this elegant. This was right in line with my love of Robert Ashley’s music, so I really adored what Andrew did. It also made for the most unusual photos of the night (see below).
Whitman assembled what has to be THE all-star band of current L.A. underground musicians for his record-release performance. Margot throttled a dinner bell, Kyle played bass, Zombelle rushed in at the last moment with mallets in her hands and installed herself behind the drums, John Thill played guitar, Whitman sang and strummed, and there was banjo, cello, and probably a ton of othe rinstruments I am forgetting. Whitman jokes around with this “goth” image. But, man, in a way this *was* goth—or at least the way I wish gothic was. It was truly spooky and emotional. Unmoored from conventional musical reality, Whitman once again brought the mystical powers of song to the forefront. This was one for the ages—I hope you got to experience it.
Finally, Clark 8 was a blast of solid SoCal rock to end the party. The crowd danced and danced, and at some point Kyle took over with the jams… It was the perfect night.
OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS: I don’t have photos yet, but the Team Andrew/Deadlee/Mae Shi Sunday night Pehr fundraiser was a huge HUGE success, both musically and financially. The bands raised nearly $200 for Pehr and created one of the wildest and most fun parties I have ever experienced. More on this night when I get the pics… Until then, thanks Andrew & friends!!!
Don’t miss this Monday!!!
SEAN CARNAGE PRESENTS THE BEST OF THE CUTTING-EDGE
Monday, April 14th
I.E. (party in the 909 comes to the 213)
2.0 (the ultimate in gooey, messy performance art)
60-Watt Kid (implode like a supernova)
Snacks (appetizers & sound-art from Baltimore)
E & E (I.E. dancers now solo artists!)
Show starts 9:30pm / all-ages / $5
Pehrspace—325 Glendale Blvd., in Echo Park
See you there?
Enjoy the photos!
American Gil & the Major Dudes!!!
Lucky Dragons!!!
Dirt Dress!!!
PST!!!
Whitman!!!
Clark 8!!!
WWW.SEANCARNAGE.COM
