The Black Angels in a haze of awesomeness.

On Saturday night, I had the chance to see The Black Angels, Cold Cave, and The Kills at The Fox Theater in Pomona.  So I drove east to the city, parked in a somewhat scary parking lot, and headed into the theater which looked a lot like The Wiltern on the interior, actually.   Down on the floor beneath lofty art-deco ceilings I watched the black-clad guys scatter around stage like ants, sound-checking and setting equipment up.

The Black Angels, playing to promote their newest album, Phosphene Dream, stealthily took the stage and assumed their instruments.  The Beach Boys song that had been playing (“Good Vibrations,” to be exact) faded out, and The Black Angels’ maraca-accented heavy rock blared forth. The first song set a dark tone for the set—a delightfully raw soundtrack to a modern horror movie, perhaps? The sort of haunting feel reminded me of a heavier, more sinister My-Morning-Jacket-Evil-Urges feel.  As the set progressed, there were trippy moments of wailing shoegazing (enhanced by the swirling blue-red-purple-green hued smoke), and by the end of the set, the sound felt much more bluesy and classic—Black Keys-y.

It was a curious progression and an interesting band to watch.  Their sound filled a peculiar niche—mid-tempo enough to chill to, but heavy enough to rock out to. This band was rooted solid in their drummer, Stephanie Bailey (who just so happened to be a bleached blonde, bad-ass girl whose very existence I coveted).  The guitars were really just filler sound, and even if the chord structures weren’t as relatively basic as they were, their use of heavy distortion would still have diluted the sound.  Thankfully, the crisp and interesting drums made the sound discernable and likeable.  The vocals were completely lost on me, really just becoming another instrument rather than emotive words, but that was ok by me—I think it added to the shoegaze-y feel.  However, because lead singer Alex Maas was rocking a grizzly beard, he looked sort of like the guy from Epic Meal Time, Harley Morenstein.  This lead to my +1 and I substituting all of Maas’ drawn out notes with BAAAAACON, BA-BA-BAAAACON, GREASSSSYYYY BACON, BACON STRIIIIPS, BAAACON, which was quite entertaining.  Overall, I dug the sound enough to enjoy the set.  Though I was in constant wonder of why Maas clung to a tambourine throughout the entire set, which I never managed to hear, or why the guitarists and bassist kept switching guitars whose sound would inevitably blend to a muddled wailing anyways, the drummer kept the band afloat, and the energy was potent.

At this point, I was expecting Cold Cave to come out next. Apparently, I was terribly misinformed. The Interwebz soon informed me that they had played before The Black Angels, and I was reluctant and disheartened to realize I had missed the set.

My misfortune was short-lived, however. The Kills came out and powerfully launched into their set, which featured a giant leopard print background with lights set to look like stars in the dark.  It was a pretty cool visual, and the two members of The Kills managed to fill a sparse stage with presence and energy.  The set started out strong—in your face thanks to booming, sucker-punching bass beats. Unfortunately, it got old fast; I was constantly waiting for some epic part of a song to bust out—maybe some crazy vocals, an insane guitar solo—anything.  Soon, the drum, which basically rotated through three painfully basic beats, grew tedious—a live drummer here would’ve been instrumental (arguably the best pun ever?) in providing some much needed variation and experimentation. Now, don’t get me wrong: it’s not like I am in constant need of sick drumming to enjoy a band.  The problem here is that neither the vocals nor the guitars picked up the lack-of-interesting-drums slack.  Slap some Florence Welch howls on there and I’d be hooked; throw in some fiery Death From Above 1979 basslines or some freaking Free Bird guitar solo epicness for God’s sake—just give me some sort of semi-sophisticated tonal variation.  Overall, they have all the necessary bad-ass elements to rule the edgy rock scene; however their music lacks the danger and carelessness I would hope for…and, if they did have those elements, then they’d be Sleigh Bells.

Maybe my expectations were too high—I’ve read great things about them, and I’m totally open to investigating their music more. Maybe just the latest album, Blood Pressures, is less varied and their other stuff is totally rad. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by the endlessly interesting White Denims of the world, but I felt like I was missing why an immeasurably enthusiastic and dynamic crowd raged around me.  Maybe The Kills’ hardcore image and relatively safe sound attracts an unsure crowd, questioning, “Can I be totally hardcore, man?” This same anxious crowd, perhaps, hears The Kills and says “YUP.” Then they get tattoos, wear black, and Wikipedia “Anarchy.” Too far?

Catch The Black Angels next tonight in San Diego at the Belly Up.  Doors open at 8, the show starts at 9; tickets are $17 day of the show, 21+
Click here for more info and tickets!

Catch Cold Cave next tonight at The Lowbrow Palace in El Paso, Texas at 8pm.  18+  Tickets are $13 for ages 18-21, $10 for 21+
Click here for more info and tickets!

Catch The Kills next on Friday, May 27th in Manchester, UK at the Central Methodist Hall at 8pm.  Tickets are £15.00.  All ages (I think…).
Click here for more info and tickets!