San Francisco – Up in the Bay Area, we have a phenomenon of sorts—something that has popped up in the past couple of years—lovingly called “Fauxchella.” Fauxchella represents the week-long run of concerts held in the Bay Area between the two weekends of the Coachella Music Festival that happens annually under the April sun of Southern California. Bands drive up the coast and perform a show or two in San Francisco, treating our fair city’s fans with a one-off show before they have to trudge back to the desert for Weekend Two.
For this year’s Fauxchella, we were treated to a show by the band ANTEMASQUE, a new project offered by the two founding members of the now-defunct The Mars Volta (who dissolved in 2012). ANTEMASQUE features Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals) and Omar Rodríguez-Lopez (lead guitar) as front-runners, as well as Omar’s brother Marfred on bass and Dave Elitch on drums. The band’s debut self-titled album was released last year, and features Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea on bass (though he did not appear onstage with the band, as he is technically not a member of the band).
After sets by bands Sister Crayon and Le Butcherettes, ANTEMASQUE graced the stage under pale blue lights which kept their hue throughout the entire show. The show was pretty short—just ten songs—and mimicked a festival set in style, pace, and length. 90% of the set showcased songs from the band’s debut LP, and the whole set moved with oily thrash and shrieking purpose.
Seeing ANTEMASQUE live was at the same time very similar and much different than seeing The Mars Volta. Obviously the lineup was different, as was the overall sound of the band. However, Cedric’s playful energetic banter kept the crowd alive, and there was minimal space between each song break, giving Cedric only a few seconds to retreat stage left and take a sip from his oversized steaming mug, a mug I have seen at Mars Volta shows in the past, likely used to soothe his aching vocal cords after shrieking non-stop for three-to-five minutes at a time. The most Mars Volta-esque song came towards the end, as they stretched out “Providence” and allowed for some slowed-down spacey interludes during which Cedric would sing softer and Omar’s guitar playing took center stage.
They also took the time to do a cover of Joe Jackson’s “One More Time,” a new wave song originally recorded in 1979. ANTEMASQUE’s take was appropriately faster, louder, and harder, and it was quite some time before any of us even made the connection.
The rest of the set went off without a hitch, showcasing Cedric’s psychotic screaming and Omar’s artful guitar (he even contributed some backing vocals to a few songs). Dave Elitch’s drumming was totally on par as well, offering chaotic percussion to the manic procession of ANTEMASQUE’s songs. Crowd favorites included opener “In The Lurch”—which had everyone spilling drinks on each other as they jumped and danced–“Momento Mori,” “Ride Like the Devil’s Son,” “4AM”—an early single and fan favorite—and “Rome Armed to the Teeth.” They closed with thrasher “People Forget” which also reminded me of some early Mars Volta, but turned up about 80 decibels.
Alas, there was no encore, but the crowd was happy with what they got. Hopefully the band will endure past its first album and we will be seeing more of them in years to come.
ANTEMASQUE has tour dates through July including some festivals and a leg in Europe. For more information, check out their Facebook.
Photo of ANTEMASQUE live by Corey Ball
Corey Bell
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