Last night I went with the crew to the Quest's Ascot Room to see Autolux, Moving Units, and The Secret Machines.
We got there halfway into Autolux's set, but they still stole the show. The trio's sound was mixed flawlessly, and their songs effortlessly drifted between whispers and excruciatingly loud noise. I'd go on, but really the band was just really solid, and I hope they tour again soon so I can see a full, longer set. The CD is alright, but doesn't really compare to their live show.
This was my fourth time seeing Moving Units, and they were absolutely terrible. The sound was all wrong and the bass was way too low in the mix, but it was the band's fault too. The guitarist had too much reverb, and eventually even put delay on, making his usually choppy guitar parts a meaningless blur. The drummer and guitarist can't seem to get over the fact that they're on stage, and use it as an opportunity to do whatever they want. Instead of sticking with the tight, angular sound that made their earlier shows and recorded material engaging, they attempted some kind of improvised jam shit. The bassist looked unhappy while they did their schtick, but then even he joined in. This had started the last time I saw them, but just went even further this time. What kind of punk band IMPROVISES? WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE! And the band only played about six songs, skipping over the highlights of their latest LP. I was extremely disappointed, but not entirely suprised. I almost feel like apologizing for hyping them earlier on the site, but I stand by the fact that they used to put on a good show.
The Secret Machines put on a solid show. If you don't like their record, you won't like them live, but I definitely enjoyed it. However, their main set was comprised by at least half of things I had not heard before, and their slower tracks seemed even slower live. The frat-boy/aging crowd was not too enjoyable either. But it was made up for by a stunning encore of "First Wave Intact" followed by their single "Nowhere Again", and a great homemade light set-up.
I snapped a few photos of TSM. Click on the photos for a larger view.
5 comments:
dude, we all know bloggers get paid to promote secret machines. too bad they suck.
i wish i got paid for ANYTHING on this site. i don't, dumbass, and i like the secret machines. thanks for reading though.
I liked the SM album and enjoyed them live last summer but the two times I've seen them since I didn't get into it at all. I think after a while the repetitiveness of the songs just got to me. The music doesn't have enough hooks, and they have absolutely no charisma whatsoever. Someone told me they are complete pricks, which is heresay but does not shock me at all.
Having grown up around the Dallas music scene, I've seen the Secret Machines in a variety of incarnations including Captain Audio. Though they don't jump around or have between song banter, they focus on the music to do the charisma thing. I've never seen them be any sort of prickish but perhaps their quiet nature could be interpreted as such.
Frank's comment about TSM being "pricks" obviously reveals he does not know them. He must be a schmuck who loves to trash. Get a life, Frank, try truth once in a while, it will be good for you.
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