 Photo: Rob Botten (C)2017 metalmasterkingdom.com Photo: Rob Botten (C)2017 metalmasterkingdom.com Photo: Rob Botten (C)2017 metalmasterkingdom.com Photo: Rob Botten (C)2017 metalmasterkingdom.com | Written by: Marty Adem Photography: Rob Botten On the night of August 30th, at Lee's Palace, the bands Bask, Kayo Dot, and Pallbearer graced the stage. Laden with new merchandise, soulful, haunting lyrics, and captivating melodies, this night's performance demonstrated the variety of emotions one can experience, in all of their subtlety and vigor. The first band on stage was Bask, hailing from North Carolina with their heavy, riff-ful sound. Their singer and lead guitarist carried the performance with his bellowing, bluesy vocals and driving guitar lines. A good opener for the night, they welcomed the audience to revel in hypnotic, swampy rhythms typical of music from the southern U.S. Their sound was reminiscent of other American stoner/doom/psychedelic bands, and the crowd seemed to really enjoy their repertoire, headbanging and moving to their grooves. Second to perform were Kayo Dot, this time with a slightly different lineup to their previous show earlier in the year. Toby Driver and his band amazed us all once again with his transcendent vocals and varied bass lines. The band truly supercedes all genres and adeptly combines elements of jazz, metal, synth-pop, and psychedelia. The songs are varied, complex, and intricately woven in with lyrics that evoke palpable moods: longing, despair, wretchedness, and hope. At times cacophonous, Kayo Dot's music seems to bind onto melodic lines that create an overarching framework that unites the song, and even the entire composed set together. "Mortality of Doves" was played, and is perhaps one of their best songs to date, with Toby's voice lingering softly over drums and guitar before bursting into proclamations. Their performance that night was electric and heavy, perhaps with a bit more stiffness/lack of fluidity from the drums this time around. It was clear that many were mesmerized, and that fans abounded to see them perform. They were most definitely an interesting transition between Bask and what was yet to come, toning down the rawness of the previous act with their mix of shrieks and subdued, melancholic melodies. The final act of the night, Pallbearer, was mixed in their performance. Touring with their latest album Heartless, the band really demonstrated their range of subtlety and composition. There is no doubt that their songs are beautiful, both aesthetically and compositionally (Brett's soaring vocals are breath-taking), but where they fall flat is that their selection of songs all sound very similar with little variance, creating a set that lacks depth or interest. Undoubtedly, hard-core fans thoroughly enjoyed the show and got their money's worth, but for those who perhaps enjoyed listening to them more casually, it was a lack-luster performance. Subtlety translated to lack of dynamics on stage, and although they tried to achieve presence on stage by moving around and interacting with each other, it simply didn't cut it. Their recordings sounded better on vinyl than their performance did live, and overall, they were fairly repetitive, sticking to a similar composition and style over and over again. However, they delivered what fans wanted, and perhaps that is really all that matters in the end. Overall, the night was varied and enjoyable, despite minor nuances, beginning with an invocation of rawness and bluesy vibes, shifting into complexity, and ending with wistful, melancholic pondering, leaving us to unwind and reflect upon our own emotions as the slow, cool chill of Autumn descends. |
| Kayo Dot Toby Driver Ron Varod Keith Abrams Daniel Means Occasionally Tim Byrnes Record Label The Flenser, Ice Level Music, Antithetic, Hydra Head, Tzadik, Robotic Empire, Blood Music, Holy Roar | Pallbearer Brett Campbell Devin Holt Joseph D. Rowland Mark Lierly Record Label Profound Lore Records/20 Buck Spin/Nuclear Blast |
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