Back to the Water

I want to understand the experimental noise scene. It excites me, and the creativity that musicians in this scene have breathes life into me in a way. That being said, it’s a sound that I don’t get. The lack of a recognizable beat or even recognizable sounds always has me confused and, quite frankly, annoyed at times. I feel like I can only take this style of music in small doses (like 15-20 minutes at a time), but I am trying to get more into it. That’s how I found myself at the 7th Street Entry on Tuesday night.

Kicking the night off was the local industrial-based noise band Burning. Burning formed back in 2015 but went dormant for a couple of years in 2018. They’ve been back for a bit now, but Tuesday night was my first introduction to this local group. I was instantly in love. Their set was dark, both visually and in terms of their music. There was something threatening and almost intimidating about all of the members of this group, but my eyes were glued to Sadie, the vocalist, throughout their entire thirty-minute set. The way Sadie screamed so ferociously into the microphone was so beautiful to me. It was raw and almost exposing in a strange way. I know many effects were being used on the vocals, but those screams matched the dual drums, the almost drone-styled guitar work, and everything else happening in Burning’s soundscape, which hit me so hard and so perfectly. It was truly like a cathartic experience and one that, after nearly a week off from live shows, I really needed.

Although the whole night had this severe undertone to it (it’s hard to explain, but although the bands that performed seemed like they were loving what they were doing, there was something super serious and haunting about all of the performances), things took a turn to be even more serious as Cel Genesis took the stage. One of the three members started warning the audience that strobe lights were about to go off. I didn’t think much of it, but this band member continued to warn people that they weren’t kidding- strobe lights were going to be used, and it was going to be intense. This member then proceeded to countdown a strobe light test. A quick couple of flashes of the bright lights proved that everything was working, but as the band continued to get set up, I wondered why they were being so serious about this warning and the testing of the strobes. I mean, a lot of bands use strobe lights. No big deal. Right?

Cel Genesis takes strobe light usage to a whole new level. The lights were going off throughout their performance, which lasted for probably around twenty or thirty minutes. Honestly, I have no clue how long this trio was on stage as I was so wholly and completely lost in their world. The music of this band, like the constant strobe lights, is chaotic. That’s the best way to explain it. It’s definitely avant-garde noise but leans into something a bit more reminiscent of hardcore punk or even metal. I loved this because it gave me something to latch on to and helped me get a bit closer to understanding this foreign-to-me scene. I loved that the energy radiating off the stage felt more like that of a metal band than an experimental act and how the music matched this. My only complaint was that the crowd was doing nothing. Maybe it was the quick and constant flashes from the strobe, but all three members of this band were giving the audience everything they had, only for the audience to essentially just stand there and take it all in. Maybe the rest of the audience was like me, completely in awe of the sorcery happening on the small stage in front of me, or maybe it was just because it was a sleepy Tuesday night, but I would have loved to see more action in the audience.

The last time I saw the headlining act The Body was back in August of last year when they played at The Turf Club. That was a week where I was really trying to get out of my comfort zone and felt that going to see The Body would do just that. Since then, I have spent some time with this group and have found their haunting and intense sound to be super up my alley even though, after so many listens, I still don’t quite understand where they have their beats or how the composition of their tracks work. That confusion of mine was put in the spotlight on Tuesday night as The Body played through their set. It felt the same as that fateful night back in August, but, this time, I recognized certain bits and pieces of their tracks, giving me the illusion that I was finally starting to understand their noise sound that leans heavily in the metal vein of things. The truth is, I will never understand this band or this scene, but when it comes down to it, it’s not music to be understood; it’s music to be felt, and I felt every single note and beat of The Body’s set on Tuesday night.

The Body was different from their typical duo on Tuesday night. They had a guest on stage with them named Dis Fig. The beauty of Dis Fig instantly had me struck. The smooth and almost angelic style of their vocals floated over the intensity and darkness of The Body in such a beautiful way. The contrast of these competing vibes, feelings, and sounds translated so perfectly into a live setting. Although I knew that Dis Fig was not a full-time member of The Body, I would understand if someone thought this was just how the band always was because it was so truly flawless.

One may wonder how these two acts synced up together to not only perform together on a tour but also put a whole album out there (check out ‘Orchards of a Futile Heaven’), but when you get to know this scene a bit more, it makes sense. This scene and The Body, in particular, is all about pushing the boundaries. It’s about making you question what you know about music and sound in general. It’s about caring more about creativity and uniqueness than convention and what should be allowed. Long story short, it’s creativity at its finest, and being able to experience that on Tuesday night as my first show back after a longer-than-usual break was truly and absolutely perfect.