Re-viewing the DIY scene

moving mountains w/ biffy clyro

this last monday night i attended a show at the rickshaw stop in sf. first i just want to say how much i love this venue. this is one of those few awesome venues, that if you dont know exactly where it is, youll probably drive/walk past it like five or ten times before you realize, “oh, its just this door right here.” the place has no real signage outside, just a door, & a warehouse gate with some concert flyers posted up on it. once inside, you pass a small reception area with a couch, & couple tables for merch. you then pass the bar on your right, & a set of metal stairs, where upstairs you find an indoor smoking room with a foosball table & a pinball machine. there is another lounge space with a couple couches, & then a small balcony space. back down below the main room is similar to your smaller bar/club/venues, an open room with a stage at one end. & of course there are a number of rickshaws in various styles.

so first to take the stage was a “band” called bird by bird. i use quotes because well, it was just two guys. you know the ever so popular guitar/drummer duo. lately this dynamic has become rather over done in my opinion. this left me wondering throughout their set, were they doing this to be ironic, or was it post-irony? it was kind of hard to make this decision, at first i thought they were being ironic, simply due to the fact that there were just two of them. then later they mentioned how there used to be other members, but the two just loved each other too much, & therefore let go of the rest of the members, to which i thought, okay theyre post-ironic. then one of their songs had the lyric, “we can be the change, love is the change”, making me think they were again just ironic. but then i realized they really thought they were just that cool, & were in fact a great indie band, & i concluded that they must be post-ironic. not to mention theyre ultimate hipster uniforms of striped shirt with vest, & plaid button shirt with ray charles shades. also the guitarist/lead singer had this really goofy stylized jew fro that bounced around like a styrofoam bill when he would headbang. musically, they were in fact really good, & actually really blew me away when the frontman shredded through a wicked metal solo on his acoustic. i would recommend checking them out, cause they probably will be an up & coming band to watch.

next to take the stage was the band that were the reason i was in attendance, & i was under the impression they would be headlining, but oh well. the band was moving mountains, a four piece out of new york, & who are certainly taking the lead in post-punk bands to follow. truthfully, i just heard about this band a few weeks ago, & ive been kind of obsessed since, so the chance to see them live so early in my “fan”atic lifetime was amazing. one thing that quickly pleased me about their live show was the fact that they set themselves up in single line at the front of the stage, creating an even playing field among band members. despite a slight delay on lighting cues, their set began with full force, & from then on the lighting was actually a very prominent part of the set, (but hopefully there was no one prone to seizures in the crowd…). the band’s sound is very weighted on the moody & atmospheric edge of things, but then accentuated by an urgent punk energy. the vocals were a bit overpowering, but i think they did that on purpose, the one thing i would have preferred they had changed. the set was driving & hit you like a freight train, but was unfortunately to short. having been a fan for just a short time, im not sure but i think most of the songs were off their upcoming release, waves, which was available for preorder w/bundles at the show. the album is set to be released may 11 on triple crown records, i highly suggest you go pick that up, & look into their other two albums, foreword & pneuma.

after the mountain boys left the stage, the rest of the crowd started getting extremely antsy for the headliner to come on stage. i was amazed to find myself surrounded by the most foreigners ive ever encountered at a small show, i believe i heard them say they were all from glasgow. this kind of dedication gave me the impression i was in for a real treat. i was a bit skeptical, i had never heard of these guys, biffy clyro, so i went & previewed their music on myspace, & was not very impressed. so the fact that there was so much hype within this small club left me wondering. again, i had mixed thoughts about what i was in for. first, the band had a big huge banner hanging on stage the whole night, a sign of a band just a little too interested in themselves, then they had their own music techs, which some not so big groups sometimes have, if theyre lucky. but then the three scotts (scottish folk) came out on stage, without any shirts on. i mean, who does that? its one thing if theyre playing an outdoor festival & its ridiculously hot out, but in a club, before they even have worked up a sweat? well, they then slammed into their set, & i was taken by surprise, these guys were really heavy, & really rocked hard…& then dude started singing, & everything changed. it was just very odd hearing such a high, whiny voice coming from such a bearded man. ive experienced this kind of thing before, i.e. manchester orchestra, but that was with more indie/emo sounding bands, where these guys had a sound that harkened back to the sludgyness of early ’90s grunge. it was just a little too sharp a contrast for me. the more i listened to them, i started to formulate what they reminded me of; imagine putting weezer, nirvana, & primus in a blender, adding a dash of andrew wk & then over diluting the mixture with a whole lotta suck, & hitting frappe. they just tried to hard to sound “different” that they ended up sounding extremely generic. i picture them being the new poster band for the van’s warped tour. again, ideal hipsters, trying so hard to look & sound credible. eventually i just left early.

even though two out of three of the bands ended up not working for me, the short but sweet set by moving mountains was well worth the night out. i cannot impress enough how good these guys are, go look them up…NOW! & best of luck to the other bands, im sure that they will find a lot of success in the future, just not on my playlist.