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Bottom of the Hill October 10, 2002 Review by Jake Thomas After the last time I saw Dœlek, I made a promise to myself to never miss another one of their shows again. And if that meant going to some crazy metal show that they were playing at, then so be it. Let me say up front that I'm no metal dude, so take my reviews of these bands pretty lightly, and if there are any great omissions or mistakes about them then it's due to ignorance, not malice. When I arrived, Thrones were almost done with their set. Or I guess I should just say his set, as it was just one guy. From what I understand, He used to be the bassist for the Melvins, so that is probably a pretty fitting place to start talking about the music he was playing; because that's exactly what it reminded me of - the Melvins, plus lots of effects. Although I've never been a fan of the Melvins, the music coming off the stage here was intriguing to me. It somehow manages to be slow, heavy, and somewhat ambient all at the same time. The crowd certainly seemed into it, and it was packed even for this first band. He was surrounded by pedals, amps, and various other odds and ends that I couldn't even begin to describe. What I do kow is that he was playing one of those crazy, jagged looking BC Rich bass guitars that I always wanted as a kid. I was wishing I had gotten there a little early to hear one or two more songs by him, but maybe next time around. Once Dälek started setting up I got a seat on one of the speakers next to the stage. That meant that not only would I get to hear their music, but feel it as well. Plus, I'm lazy, so sitting down is always nice. Anyways, they started into a much more rocking set than at the Hemlock previously, or maybe it just seemed more rocking because they were so much louder here. Either way, they were amazing. What more can I say? They were clearly on top of their game, as a result of being on tour for a while now. I recently watched the movie 'Scratch,' and it really hit me just how innovative and different DJ Still is from everyone else. I'm sure he can't scratch like Qbert and those guys(although he's still pretty damn good at it from what I've seen at shows), but he has so many different tricks up his sleeve that I'm willing to place a bet that 20 years from now people will be looking back at just how ahead of his time he was. The final song was just a beautiful wall of noise, with Still and Oktopus doing their thing while Dälek rubbed his mic up and down on the monitors to create feedback. For a crowd made up mostly of metal dudes, they seemed to take to it fairly well. I settled towards the back for Isis. To be honest, their music was not to my liking, but everyone else there seemed to be having a damn good time. I actually liked the music, it was just the vocals that I couldn't hang with - I've never been a fan of the gravel voice that is used in most metal now days. One funny thing that I noticed was that Tenacious D were playing on the TV by the bar while Isis were playing, so it created a really funny scene if you were just watching the TV while listening to the band. But I have one question - does listening to metal music make you want to grow a beard, or does growing a beard make you want to listen to metal music? Cause there sure were a lot of beards at the show. Not that there's anything wrong with that, just an observation. A question for the ages I suppose, just like that whole chicken/egg fiasco... --- Read our previous Dœlek reviews August 24, 2002 @ Hemlock Tavern November 16, 2001 @ Bottom of the Hill ©2002 playinginfog.com |