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Iceage looks and acts the part of a band who would be created if you took Warsaw (the pre-*Joy Division* band) and distilled it down to a clear liquid, adding a bit of snot and sneer to the proceedings. Singer/guitarist/provocateur Elias Bender Rønnenfelt looks uncannily like Ian Curtis and has the distance and sullen demeanor to perfect the doppelganger feeling.
On stage, Iceage is no talk and all business, a brutally short attack that had the kids bouncing around like water molecules in a boiling tea kettle. Even Rønnenfelt got into the physicality at times, once bringing his guitar neck straight down onto my camera lens, and other times leaning over the crowd and singing, David Yow-style. Thirty-eight minutes and no encore later, they left without saying a word. Now that’s punk rock.
White Lung was the perfect foil to this bill, a Canadian punk band following in the great tradition of almost post-punk bands like The Proletariat or Discharge, tension-filled guitar that eschews the basic power chords or lower string riffs for biting circular figures played up high on the frets. Originally an all-female quartet, Kenneth William joined in 2008 and is a fascinating player to listen to. Singer Mish Way had a feral vocal style that was captivating and held your attention through the buzzwhip songs.
