Beauty: In Various Acts and Forms
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Artist:
Intro - "Locals Only":http://www.localsonlyindy.com/Locals Only is a small Indianapolis bar that bills itself as a music and art bar. This was only the second time I've been to the place, and it was the first time I'd gone to see a band play. The bar looks like it has been around for a while; then again, it's the type of bar that probably looked aged when it was new. The place has that certain second-hand appeal to it that attracts the local hipsters. With a collection of vintage beer cans adorning the bar and a huge selection of imports and micobrews available at the bar, the most popular beer going that night was PBR tall-boys. The place was fairly empty when I first arrived. So I grabbed a drink and sat in a booth to listen to Annie spin music. Annie works for the local record shop, and she and her husband were responsible for bringing the band to town. As time progressed, the bar started to slowly fill up. There wasn't a person who walked through the door that wasn't met with a friendly greeting by one or more people already in the bar. Everyone seemed to know everyone else. I just sat back with another drink, basking in the residual glow of good friends and fellow music lovers, waiting for the first band to start.The Physical - "Beta Male":http://www.myspace.com/betamaleThe first band up was Beta Male. Beta Male is a five piece band from Cincinnati, OH consisting of a drummer/lead vocalist, a guitar player, a bass player and two girls on synthesizers. The band was onstage doing a sound check when I arrived. One of the first things I noticed was the guitar player. The guitar player, Vess, was a former local music scene hero. Vess played in a band called The Pieces, who I used to make sure to catch whenever I could. I'd be lying if I said that Vess was the only person I noticed on stage during sound check. Truth be told, the two girls on stage demanded a lot of attention, and when they came out dressed for the show, they demanded a lot more attention. Gone were the everyday casual clothes they were originally wearing. Instead, they were wearing skin-tight, silver lycra body suits with zippers up the front, semi-zipped of course, and, very obviously, nothing else. Well, one was wearing a black bra. As for the other one, it appears the band has an exebitionist in the mix. The drum kit was setup in the center of the stage and everyone else was arrayed around it. With Vess on one side and the exebitionist on the other, I was a bit torn on where to devote my attention. Vess is a good guiltar player, and when he gets into playing it, he's fun to watch. On the other hand, a lithe, 4 foot-something girl that is bouncing all over the place while playing her synth and adjusting the zipper on her outfit ever couple minutes is quite entertaining too. I'm afraid to say that Vess's playing took second-stage quite a few times. When the girl left the stage, grabbed a hula hoop and proceeded to the dance floor for a song.... Well, she got a lot of attention from everyone. Beta Male play a bouncy, new wave influenced rock that makes you want to move your feet. The songs were good, but not great. What they lacked in greatness, they made up for in fun. Definitely the type of band to catch with a group of people who want to drink and move their feet.The Visual - "JohnnyTwentyThree":http://www.myspace.com/j23musicJohnnyTwentyThree is another band out of Cincinatti, OH. They are a three piece band comprised of a guitar player, a drummer and a violinist. The band also has its own projectionist, who runs two old-school reel-to-reel projectors and one large CRT projector hooked to a laptop. The experience wasn't so much the usual watching of a band play as it was listening to a band soundtrack a movie. JohnnyTwentyThree specialize in an ambient rock that could be closely compared to Sigur Ros. While Sigur Ros is more ethereal and uses vocals, JTT plays a harder, guitar-driven instrumental rock that is softened at times by the violinist and accentuated by the frenetic playing of the drummer at others. All of it blended beautifully with the video from the main projector that blanketed both the band and the entire back of the stage with old, black and white footage. The video was mostly comprised of '40s-era military scenes and various propoganda messages interspersed with the occasional wedding and cemetary shots. At certain points in the show, the projectionist would overlay the main video with scenes from one of the reel-to-reel projectors; using his hand to gently fade in and out the overlaying videos. These were usually color videos of outdoor scenes or additional propaganda material and messages. Over all, the video lended a tragic texture to the 10 minute long soundscapes woven by the band. You can get a pretty good idea of what it was like by checking out the video on the band's mySpace page. As good as the music was, it was the projectionist that made the band's set so great for me. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for when this band returns to Indy.The Aural - "A Place to Bury Strangers":http://www.aplacetoburystrangers.com/I was already blown away by the visual presentation of JohnnyTwentyThree and knew that APTBS used projectors during their show too. After a quick setup, the three member, Brooklyn-based band took the stage and asked for the lights to be turned out. What followed wasn't as much about the video as it was about the glorious noise they put out. APTBS bill themselves as a loud band; not one that is loud for the sake of being loud, but one that believes the volume accentuates the music they play. To be honest, I've heard louder bands, but I've not heard one that uses all that noise quite as well as this band does. The noise wasn't just noise for the sake of noise either. It's... hard to explain. The noise in the song just sounds like a different way of playing the instrument instead of a lot of distorted feedback. And when you watch a strobed scene of the lead guitarist hunching over his prostrated guitar, ripping a string from it while simultaneously beating the shit out of it, and still creating a meaningful noise, you will understand what I mean. After the song ended, the guitarist calmly walked over and picked up a second guitar to play. By the end of the show, the second guitar didn't fare much better. I really only have two complaints about the show. One, the vocals were mixed a little low; so, it was hard to catch the lyrics at times. Two, there was absolutely no crowd interaction. I dont think they even announced their name at the beginning of their set. When the show was over, they quietly left the stage and bolted for the RV. I had to physically stop one of them to tell them I loved their band. And then they were gone. No encore; no goodbye. Outro Leaving the bar that night (passing the RV where the following video was shot on webcams) I wondered at the beauty I had witnessed. A couple years ago, I would have never dreamed of seeing a set of bands like this. It's not that I wouldn't have gone to the show, but I probably just wouldn't have known to go. Thankfully, I have online musical friends to fill the gap left by my real-life friends. As I walked through the rain to go meet up with some of my friends at another bar, I figured the most beautiful thing I might have seen that night was the groups of like-minded friends enjoying a good set of bands. Thanks for reading.
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