Gathering Of The Tribe

Neurosis / Voivod / Yob
The Fox Theater, Oakland, California
November 17, 2012

"Show of the year."  

That was the thought that popped into my head when this gig was announced.  Given that Umlaut has had a couple of once in a lifetime shows in 2012, even I was taken aback by the thought.  However, more than any other band, Neurosis represents my own personal "crossover" that took place in my life back in the late 80's.  It was a time when I had grown disenchanted with the original Metal Scene but I was introduced to a whole new underground of bands rooted in the Punk scene.  One of those bands was Neurosis.  Having Voivod on the bill, one of the bands who directly influenced Neurosis, made this event even more profoundly full circle.

Tonight in Oakland was a one-off album release show for the new Neurosis epic Honor Found In Decay and one of only 2 shows the band will play this year.  It's been almost 2 years since Neurosis last played a hometown area show, but I can't remember the last time they played in Oakland.  According to the Umlaut Archives this was at least my 21st Neurosis show.  Friends and associates traveled from all over the country for this and it was pretty amazing to experience the gathering of the tribe come together.

Unfortunately, I was only able to catch around 1 1/2 songs of Yob's thundering 35 minute opening set.  I was distracted by other events that carried me down into the deepest bowels of the venue... literally.  One thing led to another and I found myself in the surreal and plush dressing room area that looked like a bizarre bomb shelter version of a hotel.  There were curtains and window treatments on the walls but obviously there were no windows behind them because we were, like, 2 stories underground! 

Geek Moment: Entering the Voivod dressing room and they were speaking to each other in French. As I gave copies of Murder In The Front Row to them Blacky asked "Who died in the front row?" and I said "We all did".  Away immediately said "Yes!" and told a story about when Voivod went to see G.B.H. and Blacky jumped in the pit because he didn't want to be intimidated by the punks... but he soon exited the pit with his nose smashed and bloody.  Then this happened:

 Killing Technology with Murder

[Photo courtesy of Photo Ray]

 
After this Metal Geek moment I was able to spend some quality time with Neurosis and some old friends from back in The Day.  I hadn't seen many of them in years and the reunion vibe made this one of the best evenings of the year.

 Weapons of Neurosis

Twenty years ago this guy had dreadlocks and my hair was at least 6 inches longer:

[Photo courtesy of Photo Ray]

When I was on tour with Neurosis in 1993 I awoke one morning in Seattle to the soothing sounds of Steve Von Till playing Mercyful Fate riffs on an acoustic guitar.  True story.  Good times.

I saw the resurrected Voivod a couple of years ago at Scion Fest in Ohio and in hindsight I wasn't sure if they were as great as I thought or if I had simply been caught up in the moment and wanted them to be great so I rationalized it.  For many Metalheads like myself, Voivod are a sacred band who were a mind-altering and mindblowing discovery and seeing them without Piggy (R.I.P.) is pretty emotional.  New guitarist Chewy seemed to fit in but I just wasn't sure once I got home.  I should not have had any doubts.

The anticipation before Voivod's return to a Bay Area stage was thick in the air, even backstage.  I've known Neurosis for over 20 years now and I've never seen them giddy like they were prior to Voivod walking upstairs to the stage.  Even a backstage appearance by former Voivod member Jason Newsted didn't seem that special.  No, Newsted did not join Voivod onstage..

As the industrial dirge intro of the song 'Voivod' steamed from the PA and the band walked onstage and launched into their anthem, I pushed my way past the casual fans up to the front. I then spent the duration of our heroes' 65 minute set banging my head standing beside old friends, some of whom I've known for 30 years.  We were all Teenage 80's Metalheads and Punks again.    

The 8-song set was a mind blowing cross section of material and included the new song 'Mechanical Mind' which fits right into the band's sonic armory perfectly.  The mighty Voivod closed their tremendous assault with a unbelievably hammering 'Tribal Convictions' followed by their cover of Pink Floyd's 'Astronomy Domine' dedicated to the late Piggy.  It's not often that raw emotions are touched by a Metal band onstage but that's exactly what happened on this night in Oakland.  Here in the 21st Century, with all of our convenient but dehumanizing technology, it was a healthy reminder that Voivod are still relevant and still speak to me.

Voivod

[Photo courtesy of Taylor Keahey]

After the set, I staggered away from the stage towards the bar and ran into other friends and acquaintances in the crowd and we all had the same look on our faces:  Holy. Shit. Voivod.  It's beyond great to have them back!

After the transcendent Voivod performance I wasn't sure how I would react to Neurosis.  While Voivod inspired an outward reaction in me, Neurosis have always affected me in the opposite way.  Neurosis and their music draws me back into my own head.  The band's triumphant return to a hometown stage was emotional in the same victorious way that Voivod's had been.  When I spoke to some of the band members earlier none of us could remember the last time Neurosis had played a show in the 510 area code; the nearest we could figure was maybe 1992.  The stage of The Fox is only around 15 minutes away from Gilman St. where Neurosis first learned how to be a band all those years ago.  Finally they were back in the 510.  Full circle.  

Neurosis

[Photo courtesy of Taylor Keahey]

For 90 minutes the boys leveled their hometown.  The second salvo of the set was 'My Heart For Deliverance' off the new album.  It's a song that I've really gravitated towards and from that moment on I was blissfully sucked back into the world of Neurosis again.  The band had their standard visuals going on the screen behind the stage and I took advantage of my All Access to watch the set from a couple of different places around the venue.  Standing at stage right and watching Neurosis here in the 21st Century was an epiphany.   Over the course of their history Neurosis has developed into a band that's more a force of nature onstage than simply "a band".  Neurosis are an entity of rage, solitude, volume, and beauty. 

Neurosis are the most forward looking band that I follow; they do not dwell on nostalgia or past triumphs very often and their setlist reflected this.  Out of the 10 songs played only 1 dated from before 2000.  Neurosis are like a shark; always moving forward to stay alive.  For those who care their setlist was:

• Distill (2007)
• My Heart For Deliverance (2012)
• At The End Of The Road (2007)
• An Offering (2000)
• Times Of Grace (1999)
• At The Well (2012)
• Left To Wander (2004)
• We All Rage In Gold (2012)
• Bleeding The Pigs (2012)
• Given To The Rising (2007)

So many influential Metal bands have tried to shed their past triumphs and move forward creatively while not alienating themselves from what made them special to begin with..  So many seem to fall short and end up playing past heavy sets because their past ends up overshadowing their present.  Neurosis are not one of those bands.

As I said earlier, this was one of those amazing full circle nights.  The fact that Neurosis were able to bring Voivod from Canada for their special night was so huge.  For those paying attention, Voivod were the inspiration for much of what has become the Neurosis landscape.  This was a show that I will always remember; it was a perfect storm of bands, friends, and the moment.  Special thanks to Steve of CM for getting shit sorted and making it happen.

If you bought one of every Neurosis merch item you would have paid around $300.  On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called me a fag.  It's been most of a week since this show and I'm still buzzing from it.  At the risk of sounding redundant I need to type this again:  Full. Circle.

Neurosis All Access:  Portland -1993 and Oakland - 2012

Souls At Zero

Neurosis / Yob / USX
Great American Music Hall, San Francisco
January 15, 2011

It's taken me a good 3 days and nights to try and get my head around what Neurosis unleashed on San Francisco last weekend. This was the first epic bill of 2011 and definitely THE hottest ticket in the city last week; Neurosis’ first hometown area shows in over 3 years (!). Tickets for these sold out shows were posted on Craigslist for $150 - $200 each! WTF... but given the magnitude of this weekend I wasn’t that surprised Capitalism reared its opportunistic head. I was stoked to be seeing The Bay Area's legendary sons of darkness again since I have a long history with them dating back 20 (!) years. Neurosis were basically THE soundtrack when I first started Umlaut as a xeroxed fanzine back in the early-90's. Click HERE to read something about those crazy, crusty days.

San Francisco - 1993
(From the Umlaut Archives)

USX (aka U.S. Christmas): USX caught me off guard by how good they were... I've seen their name before but, to be honest, I thought it was one of the lamer band names around. However, seeing the band and hearing their songs made me remember that sometimes you can't always tell a book by its cover. USX has one of the more eclectic lineups (vox / guitar, 2 drummers, bass, multi-instrumentalist, violinist, and guitar) and they generated some attention grabbing music that was more Classic Rock than anything to my ears. Their 40 minutes onstage won me over... and that doesn't happen very often because I'm a jaded mofo. I made a note to arrive early the following night and pay closer attention to USX from their opening note.

Yob: Having Yob on this bill ratcheted things up 100x… To be honest, my anticipation was higher to see Yob than it was for the headliners. Yob treads the same trail laid down by Sleep, but they manage to blaze their own way on that sacred volume path. As expected, The Beast from The Northwest were unbelievably heavy and laid waste to the land in the short time they were onstage. For some reason the band only played an abbreviated 3-song set that lasted all of 30 minutes… which wasn’t nearly enough time. However, because Yob plays live about as often as a Sasquatch sighting, their short time in San Francisco was still a landmark event.

Neurosis: I’m having a very difficult time trying to put the 2011 Neurosis live experience into words; it’s an all out assault on the ears, eyes, and (if you’re down front) body. There are very few bands who can legitimately be called a force of nature and it's not bullshit... and Neurosis is one of those few. As I mentioned earlier, I've been following the band for 20 (!) years and it's frightening how they seem more like a living breathing beast onstage rather than simply a band of 5 musicians and a visual artist... Neurosis are not unlike the Balrog in Lord Of The Rings.

Seriously... and, yes, I'm a dork for referencing The Lord of The Rings.

According to the Umlaut Archives this was my 19th Neurosis show. The men of darkness walked onstage and started the slow and crushingly dramatic intro to 'Through Silver In Blood'... which is one of the greatest Metal songs ever written IMO. That initial 5 minutes of having the music build… and build… and build until the song fully detonated is a live music moment that I can’t imagine being equaled for me this year. I’d forgotten how powerful Neurosis is onstage as they deliver their inspirational message of enlightenment rooted in despair and conflict via the 3 distinctive voices of Steve, Scott, and Dave. Within minutes I was reeling from how Neurosis could give my jaded mofo mind a shift in perspective and make me see things new again even after all these years. I was blind and now can see (again)... although my hearing is a little less now... but that's the trade off.

For almost 2 hours the band assaulted the senses and souls of the 600 humans in the room... Ambient sounds filled the air between songs before another song detonated. Neurosis onstage are a seamless audio and visual presentation; a full on sensory assault that is profoundly crushing and cerebral. A numbing version of 'Locust Star' kind of changed my life all over again as the band performed it with an astonishing amount of bile; I was caught off guard by how the band can still muster and project so much anger after all these years. A force of Nature... maybe even beyond Nature. The nature themes of many of the visuals (trees... wolves..) also made for a nice mental contrast to the urban filth just outside the venue’s door on the streets of The Tenderloin. For those who care, tonight's setlist:

• Through Silver And Blood
• At The End Of The Road
• The Doorway
• [new song]
• Given To The Rising
• [new song]
• Locust Star
• Water Is Not Enough
• Distill
• Stones From The Sky

I was blown away how seeing Neurosis live again could make me feel like my mind was being cleansed and reset; I felt profoundly connected to *something* again. Also, here in the 21st Century, it's hard for me to remember that this is the same band that I used to see in venues like pizza parlors...

(Photo by Umlaut)

I took that photo at a show in Orange County, California at Spanky's Pizza. Neurosis live visuals back in April 1992 with their former visual artist Adam Kendall... Long before laptops and DVDs.. A bicycle wheel with colored film attached to a movie projector to turn it.. slides.. a milk crate.. blocks of wood. Neurosis have come a LONG way.

A huge THANKS to TLB for helping me get into this sold out show! On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. Click HERE to see SF Sludge's pics from the night! Then 24 hours later it was.....

Neurosis / Saviours / USX
Great American Music Hall, San Francisco
January 16, 2011

Originally I kind of wasn't planning to attend the second night.. but after the mind altering, life affirming experience of the first night it was Carpe Diem time; seize the fucking day, man. Life is too short to pass on experiences just because you're tired... and leaping back into the Neurosis abattoir again was the best thing I could have done.

USX (aka U.S. Christmas): Following their excellent set the night before, I made sure that we arrived early to see all of USX's set. Because I'm a jaded mofo it's not often that a band catches my attention and I was looking forward to picking apart what I liked about USX while seeing them again. As their set unfolded before me again I was struck by how they wouldn't be out of place opening for Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds with their hybrid of North Carolina mountain music and retro Psychedelic Rock. I was fascinated watching all 7 of their parts (guitar / vox, multi-instrumentalist, violin, 2 drums, bass, guitar) working together like the parts of a clock... Tick tock ticking out their hypnotic volume. USX are a tricky band to define so I'm just going to say that since the show I've bought most of their recorded material... to study... and pick apart.

Saviours: Seeing the Saviours on this bill was like watching Motörhead open for Pink Floyd... but it totally worked. The Saviours brand of NOWBHM-influenced Classic Metal washed away all of my mental grime and prepared my ears and psyche for the Neurosis assault that was to follow. Plus, seeing a "To-Cool-For-The-School" hipster girl get a beer spilled on her by the crowd action as the band started 'Acid Hand' made me laugh out loud. She was bummed... but she should have known better. Rookie. The local boys played a SOLID set and it was my first time seeing them with new bassist Carson, who joins his Saviours bandmate Austin and Matt Pike in the "Band Dudes From Oakland Who Don't Wear Shirts Onstage" Club.

During the stage changeover I found myself up in the boxseats chatting with old friends and ended up staying in that lookout position for Neurosis' set (THANKS Todd).

Neurosis: The set tonight had a different pace than the previous night; it was more deliberate... slower... on its path through the darkness. The song selection ebbed and flowed between quieter cerebral to the blasting cerebral more profoundly than the previous night. The highlight was having my mind blown when the intro to 'The Web' (from the Souls At Zero album) announced the band unleashing that song... HOLY SHIT! Hearing and seeing that song played again felt like the past 20 (!) years of my life were being sucked into a vortex to land on top of me as I sat there in the balcony. Also, is 'The Web' the only Metal song to sample dialogue from a Star Trek episode? I think so ("Eternal bloodlust... Eternal warfare." - J.T. Kirk).

From my vantage point I became completely hypnotized watching the scene below me play out... From the ferocious audio / visual violence of the band to the human waves as the crowd action matched the rhythm of the band's beautiful violence. I thought my ribs were starting to ache from the memory of all of those Neurosis shows from long ago when I was down front getting hammered by elbows, feet, fists, and bodies. Time travel through volume.

After another 2 hours of catharsis, Neurosis closed their homecoming with 'Through Silver And Blood', which they had opened with the night before... which gave the weekend a sense of coming full circle and giving it closure. Nicely done, lads. Those Neurosis boys... always thinking. Oh, who else noticed that Scott was flying his East Bay Oakland Raiders colors onstage tonight by wearing his #87 - Dave Casper jersey? Cute. The Geeks shall inherit The Earth. For those who care, tonight's setlist:

• At The End Of The Road
• The Web
• Given To The Rising
• Burn
• A Season In The Sky
• [new song]
• Water Is Not Enough
• [new song]
• Fear And Sickness
• Through Silver And Blood

According to the Umlaut Archives this was my 20th Neurosis show. My favorite bands are those who make me confront my inner darkness in order to appreciate them. It's not something "normal" people want to do, but without darkness there is no light... etc.. cliché.. etc.. If you’re willing to make an effort to weave Neurosis' music into your head it’s like looking into a black tinted mirror that reflects back on yourself. Is that weird? Oh well… Only darkness has the power.It was a stunning 2 nights of Neurosis.... completely amazing... I know it's another cliché, but it really is CRAZY how time flies, man.

I was so moved and blown away by these shows that I bought a merch item from every band. If you bought one of every Neurosis merch item you would have paid around $250 (I think). On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. After only 16 days into this year I've already reconnected with two of my favorite bands from the 20th Century: Melvins and now Neurosis. The more things change the more they stay the same, man. Trivia: This Neurosis band photo was taken at the Great American Music Hall:

Click HERE to see Photo Ray's shots from the night!