The Raveonettes & the Black Angels @ First Avenue

[The Black Angels]

[The Black Angels]

The Raveonettes and the Black Angels both brought their dense, layered wall of sound to First Avenue on Monday night with spirited, incredibly loud sets by both bands, culminating in the Black Angels joining the Raveonettes for their last song of the night, in a celebratory sendoff on their last night of touring together. Going into the evening, I wasn’t quite sure how each band’s sound would mesh with the other, because while the Raveonettes often thread dark subject matter through their songs, their sound is actually quite buoyant and uplifting, while the Black Angels sound is thick and grimy, with layers of guitars and driving percussion crashing like waves over the audience. But after their respective sets, I found that the bands actually have quite a few musical similarities that go far beyond being extremely, extremely loud, and their sounds and style fit together splendidly on a late and deafening Monday night in the Mainroom.

[The Black Angels]

[The Black Angels]

As the opening band on this tour, the Black Angels didn’t have their customary films playing on a screen behind them that they’ve used to augment their live performances in the past, but the Austin, Texas five-piece still got the night off to a rousing and noisy start with a taut 50 minute set that featured three brand new songs as well as their highly regarded classics. The band eased into their set with the simmering intensity of “You On The Run,” from 2008′s Directions To See A Ghost. Their music is really driven along by the steady, propulsive drumming of Stephanie Bailey, which amplifies the enormous guitar sound created by the other four members of the band, who often traded off instruments as the set progressed. Singer Alex Mass’ vocals were a bit buried in the murky mix, with the racket the band was producing often overshadowing his lyrics. That seemed to be the sound the band was after, with Mass’ voice just forming another dark melody that only added to their brooding, mercurial music. “Manipulation” was a dark, heavy flood of sound, with guitarist Christian Bland and Mass trading off vocal duties while the song chugged along mightily. And the band kept the momentum going with another older song from Passover, the dynamic call-to-arms of “Young Men Dead,” which was so loud the floor was shaking where I was standing. This song has an intensity and a temper to it that really resonated well on this evening, and served to add to the ominous mood of the Black Angels set.

[The Black Angels]

[The Black Angels]

Bassist Nate Ryan joined Bailey on drum duties for the next two tracks, providing the thudding beat of “Science Killer” while banging along on a bass drum. And with the rhythm locked down, the rest of the band really got experimental with their sound, with Mass adding echoey effects on his vocals and Bland tweaking and distorting his menacing guitar sound, adding to the swirling sound the band was creating. The first new song of the night was up next, which I’ve seen mention on the Black Angels message boards as being titled “Haunting.” It was a brief song, again very drum heavy, and finds the band experimenting even further with their interpretation of the ’60s psychedelic San Francisco rock sound. The group continued their sonic explorations on “Mission District,” stripping the song down to rather minimalist roots at the start before unleashing the high-octane sprawl to finish it off. The potent fuzz of “Black Grease” finished off the familiar part of the set strongly, with the song building in ferocity and fire amidst the massive wall of noise the band was generating. It was the clear highlight of the set for me. The band closed out their set with two more brand new songs, tentatively titled “Entrance” and “Yellow Elevator,” and even though these songs were foreign to me, they still had the band’s customary sound, but seemed to be looser, more upbeat, and a bit more poppy, just twisted a bit by the group’s capricious tendencies. I’m quite excited to hear what the band comes up with on their next album, but for this night at least, they flooded First Ave. with their immense sound and reminded us all what Texas under a bad moon sounds like.

[The Black Angels]

[The Black Angels]

[The Black Angels]

The stage was thoroughly cleared of gear before Copenhagen, Denmark’s the Raveonettes took to it with their rather minimalist set-up but overwhelmingly tempestuous sound. They performed as a four piece this evening, with Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo’s piercing guitars being augmented by a bassist (sporting a Black Angels t-shirt) and a drummer standing behind a pretty meager kit. And with a brief hello to the swelling crowd, the band tore into the wistful “Gone Forever” from their excellent new release In And Out Of Control. The light show really added an intense atmosphere to the music during the entire set, and created a disorienting nature that went hand-in-hand with the band’s blisteringly loud, JAMC sound. The band also did a good job of delving into each of their albums throughout their set, with two tracks from 2003′s Whip It On quickly following “Gone Forever,” the vigorous, guitar driven “Do You Believe Her,” and the simmering, sullen “Veronica Fever.” The band slowed things down a bit with “Lust,” the first of what amounted to be three consecutive songs from 2008′s Lust Lust Lust. “Black Satin” allowed Foo to sing us her dark lullaby while Wagner soaked us in reverb. “Dead Sound” was met with a huge cheer by the crowd, and the band added a substantial layer of feedback that coated the song in a harsh but pleasurable din.

[The Raveonettes]

[The Raveonettes]

Wagner and Foo both dropped their guitars in favor of tambourines for the stripped down start of “Break Up Girls!” which did away with the feedback laden histrionics of the recorded version for a rather subdued, sparse live version that shifted the focus to the duo’s plaintive vocal harmonies. But they eventually picked up the guitars again to add a wild, cacophonous finish to the track, complete with blinding white strobe lights and piercing guitars. It was all intentionally disorienting, and only added to the intensity of the song. “Red Tan,” from 2005’s Pretty In Black, found Wagner infusing the song with a gritty spirit that is lacking a bit on the recorded version. Foo took to the drum kit for the fuzzed-out elegance of “The Beat Dies,” and stayed at the drums for one of my favorite songs from the set, an impassioned, haunting rendition of “Heart Of Stone.” The song is catchy and evocative, and the track’s knowingly retro but thoroughly modern sound completely encapsulates the appeal of the Raveonettes for me. The playful, sing-song resonance of “D.R.U.G.S.” found Foo delivering the vocals coquettishly. The surf-rock sound found at the start of “Breaking Into Cars” gave way to the songs epic, soaring chorus that really got some parts of the large audience dancing.

[The Raveonettes]

[The Raveonettes]

Wagner played a tender, hushed version of “Little Animal” solo, and sadly it was the only song from the band’s excellent 2003 debut The Chain Gang Of Love performed during the set. And while the rest of the band stayed on stage during Wagner’s solo rendition of “Little Animal,” everyone ceded the stage to Foo in order for her to deliver a stunning, solo take on the mournful “Oh, I Buried You Today.” The songs were phenomenal, but slowed the show down quite a bit, and it needed a spark. Thankfully that spark arrived with an amped up, distorted version of “Love In A Trash Can,” which absolutely slayed live, nearly blinding everyone with the unsettling strobe lights.

[The Raveonettes]

The next two tracks formed an interesting dichotomy that seems to be at the heart of the Raveonettes new record, namely two insanely catchy, infectious songs that have weighty, painful subject matters threaded through the lyrics. “Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed)” and “Suicide” were both rollicking, spirited songs that caused the crowd to dance along with the beat, but it’s quite disconcerting to see people lose themselves in the music when the themes and issues raised in the songs are so personal and painful. It was an odd moment, especially when the crowd was singing along to the bouncy coda of “Boys Who Rape,” but the icy cool intensity of both Foo and Wagner managed to successfully fuse the tragic subject matter with their irresistible pop hooks.

[The Raveonettes]

[The Raveonettes]

Sharin then told the crowd that this has been a dream tour for them playing with the Black Angels for three weeks, and that this was the last night they would be on tour with them. It was something she would choose to address again in the encore, but for now at least the band finished their main set with the thudding, menacing beat of “Aly, Walk With Me.” It’s such an awesome song, and this version was especially intense, with both Wagner and Foo completely losing themselves in the feedback and distortion they were raining down on the crowd at the finish of the song. After a short break, the band came back out for the encore, and to no one’s surprise, they played the magnetic lead single from their new record, “Last Dance.”

[The Raveonettes]

It would have been a fitting close to the show, but the band asked the Black Angels to join them for a stirring take on the old Raveonettes B-side “Experiment In Black.” Hearing Alex Mass add his piercing howl to a Raveonettes song, all while the band layered on the feedback and distortion, really brought the show to a rousing finish for me. The bands genuinely seemed upset that their tour together was coming to a close, and this last song was purely an excuse for them to create one more memorable moment together, and we were all lucky to witness not only this particular song, but all the music they treated us to all evening. It was a night filled with blistering walls of sound and music imbued with plenty of passion and attitude. And what perhaps both bands were lacking in stage presence was more than made up for with music that anyone could connect and identify with.

[review by Erik Thompson, photos by Jon Behm]

The Black Angels Setlist:
You On The Run
Manipulation
Young Men Dead
Science Killer
Haunting (new song)
Mission District
Black Grease
Entrance (new song)
Yellow Elevator (new song)

The Raveonettes Setlist:
Gone Forever
Do You Believe Her
Veronica Fever
Lust
Black Satin
Dead Sound
Break Up Girls!
Red Tan
The Beat Dies
Heart Of Stone
D.R.U.G.S.
Breaking Into Cars
Little Animal
Oh, I Buried You Today
Love In A Trash Can
Boys Who Rape (Should All Be Destroyed)
Suicide
Aly, Walk With Me
Last Dance (encore)
Experiment In Black (w/the Black Angels) (encore)

Also: The Raveonettes “In And Out Of Control” Review