Asked to typify the city of San Francisco as an animal, I'd call her a chameleon. Asked again to typify the crowd that showed up on a moody Sunday night to listen to Oakland masters of stoner metal (High On Fire) and Japanese masters of apocalyptic post-rock (Mono), I'd say the 70% all-male crowd was a mixture of metal worshiping beasts and borderline trendsters—a peculiar amalgam. These two bands are great enough in the mastery of their sounds that they could tour as individual headliners. How they got booked together mystifies me a little. Having only heard either band's music for the first time just last week I didn't really know what to expect when seeing them live. Most people seemed to be there last night hungry for an intense experience.
I've never been to The Independent on a Sunday night before and am surprised at the devotion people have to the music they love. And maybe this is an anomaly to the San Francisco scene. The music performed this night built in intensity, band by band, and the audience merged in a spirit similar to what might be experienced in a darkly lit church somewhere in the ethers of time. Openers Coliseum were the perfect band to usher in the energy of the night. A Pabst Blue Ribbon beer commercial sound and energy brought forth by the hulking Ryan Patterson who endearingly beckoned the crowd to gather closer to the stage so that our energies could meld better stormed through a 40-minute set. New York City's Panthers shifted the mood to a new and different level of commitment though. Something wonderful about 00's music is that you can take a handful of punk and metal and glam and slam it all together and still get an enthusiastic rise out of a crowd. Hosting the most ill fitted sound of the night, yet still excitable to the crowd, Panthers played their part. It was not until Panthers left the stage though that the crowd really started to feel excitement about why they came out this night.
Mono. Singular. Distinct. Unusual. A sound experiment unlike any I've ever experienced before. This young quartet from Japan have mastered a sound that transports those that listen to it to different places in space (consciousness). The soft, slow opening melodies of “Yearning” (from the You Are There album) were familiar to many there but I did not know what to expect next. A crescendo was reached in little time that sent all four performers into spasmodic gesticulations where one would almost think they were being electrocuted by their instruments. It was life force, though, that was running through them with an inner vision of a method to rid their souls of misery. Stanislaus Groff talks of how communities experience group consciousnesses; a pool of emotion tied to experiences that a people may have suffered. Could this Japanese quartet be channeling the torment of the tragedy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki through this fiery intense melding of melodies and feedback? I didn't cry last night because their music did not reach my own heart. Maybe after gaining a deeper knowledge of their catalog and seeing them perform again they could break through to me. Technically and visionistically this band brought a hush of awe over the crowd. A woman standing next to me at the stage confessed that she had just seen Mono play in New York and Chicago then flew out to San Francisco to see the last stage of their tour. A man behind me in the crowd said that he had been on tour with them as a member of another band. He attested to what great, loving people Mono were. Although Mono never said a single word to the crowd, when their set was over lead guitarist "Taka" made a slight bow to us. Other songs they played are "The Flames Beyond Cold Mountain" from the You Are There, "Gone" and "Little Boy (1945 – Future)" from The Phoenix Tree EP, and they closed their set with "Halcyon (Beautiful Days)” from the album Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and The Sun Shined.
It became so obvious why everyone was there last night when the stage was cleared of the previous band’s equipment and wide open spaces were made available for Matt Pike, leader of High On Fire, to be able to course wildly across. Pike is enigmatic and powerful; a mighty presence to reckon with. He is like the embodiment of many metal personalities in just one body. When I first previewed the new album, Death Is This Communion over the weekend my first thoughts were of how much Pike's voice sounded like Lemmy's from Motörhead. I was not surprised to see that Pike also sports a fine set of muttonchops. Pike brought the show home though. The final stop on their six-week tour, High On Fire were back home in the Bay Area and they knew that everyone there at The Independent were there to see them.
The sedate slumber that Mono had lulled us into was shattered when High On Fire opened with “Fury Whip” from their new album. The sleeping giant started to mosh rhythmically. The believers in the church started to awaken. The preacher on the stage started to shout testimonies of the glory of the transformation of (spiritual) death. The Independent has a very closed-in feeling to it. There are no windows and the doors are to the rear of the performance area. Being part of a moshing crowd here can either make you feel claustrophobic or like you are part of a living, breathing body. The excitement of the delivery of Pike's lyrics and storming, crashing guitar leads and solos made us all hold onto every word he had to say and every gesture he made with kinetic energy. He fucking breathed life into us! The strong point of the song set was the new album’s title track, “Death Is This Communion.” The crowd went absolutely wild!
I would not hesitate to wonder whether Matt Pike had made a deal with the devil in this lifetime. His personage belies a mythical quality with the dragons, skulls and beasts that are tattooed on his arms and torso. The confidence with which he bursts onto the stage, bare chested, is like that of a maniacal chained beast let loose. I don't know if I was more afraid of him or the wild beasts in the audience that he incited to a worshipful frenzy. Church was in session and no one was leaving early.
Death Is This Communion is out now on Relapse.
High On Fire: www.highonfire.net
Mono: www.mono-jpn.com
Panthers: www.pantherspanthers.com
Coliseum: www.coliseumsoundsystem.com
