San Francisco – Multi-instrumentalist and delightful weirdo Luis Vasquez is no stranger to the fickle streets of Oakland, CA. Vasquez’s musical invention—his noisy post-punk project The Soft Moon—recently played a couple of shows on his home turf in the Bay Area, the first of which was a headlining slot at Oakland’s New Parish, a smaller venue situated in the downtown area just steps from the city’s more prominent large-scale spaces (The Paramount and The Fox Theater are a few short blocks away). The New Parish was a perfect fit for the outfit, bargaining just enough space for Vasquez and his two touring band mates (bassist Luigi Pianezzola and drummer Matteo Vallicelli) to blast through several tracks spanning the Soft Moon’s three LPs.
Vasquez is a natural onstage performer, and had no trouble translating his heavily industrialized sound for the leather-clad punk-hungry crowd that filled the venue’s modestly sized main floor and balcony. Though The Soft Moon’s sound is hard to categorize as one singular genre, such trivialities were of no consequence to either the performers nor the audience. The Soft Moon’s sound bounces between harsh punk, droning noise rock, and booming industrial music, drawing obvious influence from a wide spectrum of artists, including Nine Inch Nails and At The Drive-In. Vasquez flew around the stage with an air of chilly elation, bouncing between roles as vocalist, guitarist, producer, and occasional percussionist. Vasquez’s vocals were barely distinguishable—the words he sang often took the form of exaggerated moans and poised shrieks—yet despite their ambiguous nature, the emotion behind their delivery was potent and palpable, and the hometown crowd ate up every syllable.
The Soft Moon came on quite late in the evening—around midnight, following sets by fellow Oakland-based acts—and even though the hour was late and the final BART trains were beckoning, the artful trio went on as if it were half-past noon, full of zeal and trembling ferocity. Before their time was up, The Soft Moon had meandered through almost twenty songs in total, drawn in nearly identical proportions from the band’s three LPs. The Soft Moon’s latest LP, Deeper, released almost a year ago exactly, inspired the live appearance, allowing Vasquez to highlight some of the album’s tracks, including set-opener “Black,” “Far,” “Try,” set-closer “Being,” and a rambunctious performance of the album’s midpoint “Wrong,” which coaxed an impromptu percussion session out of Vasquez, in which he produced a metal trash can seemingly out of nowhere and spent several moments wailing on it with drumsticks, in perfect time with drummer Matteo Vallicelli’s powerful thrashing. He also entertained some well-placed bongo drums that were inexplicably amplified and possibly distorted through wired digital connections.
The material performed from the band’s sophomore LP Zeros only barely edged out the songs from Deeper in terms of quantity, and was welcome noise to the crowd’s collective ear. Highlights included “Machines,” “Insides,” “Crush” and title track “Zeros.” During the two-song encore—both Zeros tracks, “Die Life” and “Want”—the garbage can was brought on once more, and the mosh pit situated at the front and center of the viewing area seemed to grow exponentially more violent as Vasquez pounded away on his makeshift drum.
The band’s set ended almost as suddenly as it began, with Vasquez offering a final sign-off of “Alright! Go to sleep!” as he exited the stage, much to the amusement of the remaining fans.
It must be an incredible joy, as a musician, to return to one’s home turf and be welcomed with open arms, open hearts, and open ears. Those who attended The Soft Moon’s Oakland show were visibly thrilled at the prospect of seeing a hometown hero of sorts, and Vasquez and his crew did not disappoint. His performance was fantastically enthralling, and the band as a whole worked together like a very efficient and flawless machine. While The Soft Moon has seen enviable success all over the world, there’s nothing quite like being received ardently in one’s own home. The members of The Soft Moon clearly bask in the glory of being incredibly talented musicians, but the real treat is knowing they are admired, especially in their own backyard.
The Soft Moon is currently on tour in North America and Europe through March.
Photo by Corey Bell for Best New Bands
Corey Bell
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