Baroness is a much different band from when they released their first two records. Time changes a lot anyway, but toss a horrific accident while oversea on tour in there and that makes for irrevocable change. Famously naming all of their records after colors (though maybe their most recent one takes some liberties?), Red and Blue were the first two picked from the Crayola box.
Almost nine years has passed since I last saw the band, with the most significant lineup change being the addition of Gina Gleason to match leader John Baizley’s blazing fretwork. The band locked in from the starting refrains of “Ray and Pinion” and never let up. Bathed in the appropriate red light, Baizley took a moment to thank the fans of Boston who have supported them since their early shows at the Elks Lodge in Cambridge and at Mass Art, when their debut record was just released.
Gleason handled the acoustic interludes as well as the searing work on her Telecaster, while Baizley played mainly a Strat for the Red Album, switching over to a Dunable and then an unusual Rickenbacker during the Blue material, his booming vocal style clearly influenced by Neurosis.
The highlight of the show for me was “Swollen And Halo,” which carried the chorus of the previous “Steel That Sleeps The Eye” and featured multiple guitar crescendos that left me dumbfounded. Well done, Baroness.
Dawn of Ouroboros didn’t quite click for me. Maybe it was my position in the room but all I could hear was the drums and vocals, and a bit of the guitarist in front of me. The other guitarist on stage left might not have had a working amp for all I could hear. The drummer was finely tuned to the black metal blastbeats and endless tom work, the singer made sure to tell us that we should stick around for Baroness a few times, and they vaguely alluded to being from the West Coast but that’s a pretty long coastline. My friend guessed Oregon but the correct answer is Oakland.
