Acid Mothers Temple, O.G.O.D
The Loft
April 16, 2010
Better Than: This week's Stargate Universe. The scenery look great when it was called Kobol in Battlestar Galactica.
The dim attic of The Loft saw Japanese experimental rock group Acid Mothers Temple grace its small stage on Saturday night.
And though awaiting the band was a small, 50- to 60-strong audience--peppered with a few older patrons, actually--the crowd had no issue flocking up against the stage to see four mature guys blow minds for an hour and fifteen minutes.
The band offered a bit of everything that extreme rock has to offer:
some drone, some Miles Davis, and a good deal of British progressive.
Synth player and backing guitarist Hiroshi Higashi started the set with a
layer of treble from a '50s U.F.O synthesizer sound that persisted on to the
end. But it was only after drummer Shimura Koji's bass drum sound was
adjusted that the band really started. His bass drum rhythmically shook
the Loft for the rest of the night.
Meanwhile, bassist Tsuyama Atushi provided
memorable vocals in the form of ditonal Central Asian throat singing as lead guitarist and founding member Kawabata Makoto provided a variety
of guitar styles from droning with a metal rod to psychedelic improv.
The crowd howled at the first tease of "Pink Lady Lemonade."
If you can
call the night's theme mellow at all, this is where it happened.
When the clock struck midnight, the band transitioned to an energetic
improv frenzy that took the crowd for a ride. As the jam got
progressively faster and the lights fluxed around, Kawabata flailed
wildly and swung his guitar like a droning windmill.
The band ended the
set with Kawabata hanging up the guitar on the light rails and kept the
drone going until the band left the stage and returned for a short
encore.
California's O.G.O.D.--an acronym for Over-Gain
Optimal Death and pronounced Oh God--opened the night. The band played 45 minutes
of doom metal with at bit of Electric Wizard influence.
Critics Notebook
Personal Bias: I knew this band out of their reputation more than
anything. Trudging through their dense, 15-year library to find the
teases and tunes from their set is bound to get more habit-forming than
collecting Magic: The Gathering cards.
By The Way: The full name of the band's current lineup is Acid Mothers
Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. That should make the hunt
easier.
Random Note: Both acts ended their sets with guitar abuse calling back
to Jimi Hendrix and The Who. I sort of felt sorry for the instruments.
Guys: Do you respect wood?
