It would be nice to be as confident as the show tonight. Both acts, Smoke Season and King Raam, were deliberate and precise.
Smoke Season - Playing their first show in
DC, Smoke Season opened tonight. Their modern electronic leanings are
different than what you might expect from west coast acts like Washed
Out or Neon Indian. While the samples, noise, and effects are there, it
doesn't overpower the live stuff and sonically it sets the mood. It ends
up being quite the dichotomy when paired with Gabrielle Wortman's
confident voice. While I can't quite offer a comparison to something
similar, their music could be best compared to a mild Spring evening
drive, in and around Los Angeles. Not too thick, the darkness trying its
best to put a dent in the bright lights of the city. And even though
the, not necessarily disinterested but no doubt sparse crowd was
somewhat unmoved as the show began, the two played with the confidence
of seasoned pros.
King Raam - I
might have witnessed the shortest break ever between set end and encore
tonight. I'm not sure King Raam left the stage before they turned back
around and came back for an amazing closing number but more on that
later.
Perhaps
the most distinctive element of King Raam, like Smoke Season before, is
his voice. There are bits and pieces of Nick Cave, Ian Curtis, and even
some Morrisey thrown in there for good measure. Personally, I find this
particular style difficult but by the end of the night King Raam's
confidence was contagious and almost had me bouncing along (to get me
to almost anything should be considered high praise). At times, I
felt as if I was watching the live score to a spaghetti western.
There's definitely some cowboy here and I swear I heard horns. If not,
there is more than enough room for a Ennio Morricone like trumpet solo
somewhere.
As
I mentioned earlier, King Raam did not make the crowd wait long for an
encore. I have been known to skip out on encores, especially if the
moment feels right (Death's show from a few months ago) but I am glad I
stuck around for this one. The closing number was more upbeat than the
earlier pieces and had the crowd ohhing and ahhing along throughout. I
didn't know it was something I wanted to see but seeing a live sing
along in a different language was amazing. Fantastic show.
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