While reunion tours are sprouting like mushrooms in a damp cattle field, not all are welcomed with open arms (yeah the movie was good, but did we really need to see ANVIL again?). Some are highly anticipated (THE JESUS LIZARD, SLEEP) and others just kinda sneak up on you and by the time you are in the venue and the band is playing, the light bulbs go off in your head and you realize that it’s a good time to be alive. The recent show from CHAPTERHOUSE soundly registered in this category. Back in the halcyon shoegaze days, they were always little brother to the heavy hitters of the scene such as MY BLOODY VALENTINE, RIDE, LUSH or PALE SAINTS, and nestled on the second tier along with THE CHARLOTTES or MOOSE.
Not that they didn’t put out some choice material, and they ran through a tremendous amount (same set list as Brooklyn’s show) of that during this stop on the re-scheduled tour (another victim of the volcanic spew from Iceland last year). If you’ve got three guys on stage plugging guitars into amplifiers, you know it’s gonna be a sonic ride through your cochlea, and they did not disappoint, bringing a variety of textures and sounds through each of them. In particular, ANDY SHERRIFF and STEPHEN PATMAN sounded great on vocals, and despite the venue’s notorious difficulties with complex sound mixes (it’s a basement venue with low ceilings and a long, narrow room), it sounded precise.
Big hits like “Pearl” and “Falling Down” were as splendid as one could hope for, and their amphetamine-fueled cover of “Rain” was brilliant, with Patman’s unusual 12 string fender evoking a definite Merseyside sound. The shuffling, baggy dance sounds of their debut single “Falling Down” still sounded fairly fresh, mainly due to the great vocal harmonies, and they closed the encore with “Inside of Me,” the opening riff almost note-for-note a copy of SONIC YOUTH‘s “PCH.” About the only complaint was the lack of the laconic “Feel The Same,” but as they played almost everything off Pearl that was a minor quibble. Great, and unexpected return.
Opener ULRICH SCHNAUSS played a beguiling set of electronics, dance beats, and even some blasts of noise, seamlessly integrated into one piece. I’ve often wondered what sort of thing laptop musicians do when they stare into the LED monitor…check email, play solitaire, surf youtube? Well, after being close enough to see Schnauss’ screen contents, I can tell you it’s none of the above but I am still no closer to discerning the electronic artist’s software alchemy. The music was accompanied by cityscape projections, but suffered from a low room and a significant portion of the image was either projected onto the ceiling or Chapterhouse’s guitar amps and drum kit.
Local favorites 28 DEGREES TAURUS had opening duties and brought a good number out for their breathy, fuzz-driven psych that’s propelled by JINSEN LIU‘s pedal effects and his vocals are a perfect match with the cottony textures of ANA KARINA. They had a lot of fun on stage like they always do, and there’ll be another chance to catch them (and a lot of other great bands in the same vein) at Deep Heaven Now 2 next month.
