For real

Many of you who have to see me on a regular basis have already heard most of the story which will be told in detail here:

It is day one at Coachella with my opening acts being Conor Oberst followed by Crystal Castles and Leonard Cohen, nothing against any of these acts but by 9:00 I had not fallen into a musical zone. To explain the musical zone further, you may want to see the video I took of a man at the Grails show about three months ago or watch Gilbert’s description. Being slightly disappointed about having not experience this moment of bliss yet I laid down in one of the three tents at Coachella. I spotted Jody from Whenyouawake and we chatted for awhile and then parted ways with me hoping to find something new. I looked at the lineup sheet and saw A Place to Bury Strangers was playing at the Gobi Tent in 10 minutes. I had seen this name before but knew nothing of the band other than it has a great name. I wandered over to the 1/4 full tent just before the band started. In front of me were two goth chicks who seemed very excited about what was about to go down.

Photo courtesy of BrooklynVegan

The band opened with a sonic beat down, heavy guitar with effects unlike anything I have ever heard before; like My Bloody Valentine except with a drummer from Deerhunter. The drums were infectious, rolling into one another with blissful osculations of the cymbals being smashed. Playing behind the band were videos of 16 seconds loops of something from a snuff video. Notably a shot of pale woman with black lingerie and a hand (maybe her own) rubbing the outside of her thighs. The moments that transpired have been what I see when I blink from that day to this. Psychedelic drums, with My Bloody Valentine layered guitars, and vocals of Joy Division. The lyrical structure differed greatly from Joy Division in that they were not long, drawn-out poems but more paralleling the 16 second  video clips; short, repetitive verses about the darkness which resides in love. The words and tone combined to remind me of being in love in a large metropolitan area where there is  only loneliness in the dark alleys of the night. It was as if I was living in a small New York apartment strung out again with the electricity have not been paid and the only light were dim, melted down candles on an empty nightstand by a dingy, worn down bed. There was utter pain at the sound’s core yet release from anger due to the energy of the musicians expression.

The band ended with two songs played without pause. The ending of the first closing song is what is played in this video I took, with the full length of the final song captured as well. The bands video in the background at the end reminds me of Diane Arbous’s final photo shoot of people from a psyche ward doing ring around the rosy. I was completely shattered by this band and I hope you take the 9 minutes and 23 seconds to experience just a taste of A Place to Bury Strangers. I have been thinking about flying to New York in mid-May just to see them again soon. This band alone was worth the entire price of admission to all three days of Coachella.

(if you get bored then skip to minute 3:55) Preferably watch this in the dark alone.

I mean who does that with their guitar during a concert. Incredible. I have since come to find out that the lead singer/guitarist make effects pedal for a living so the effects I was hearing where truly unlike anything.

With the announcement of My Bloody Valentine playing on Sunday night at Coachella, it is only fitting that we here at TSS should all become more well versed in the genre of shoegaze. Personally, I am hoping to sail through previously uncharted waters of the shoegaze movement. For those of you who are not familiar with the genre, you might be asking yourself,  “What the ****  is this shoegaze?” Well, to be honest I am not really sure myself. What I do know is that it is used to describe MBV; consequently, it is heavily layered with sprinkles of a light female voice. Other descriptors one might use are: Sonic, Dream-like, Meditative, etc. In the end, my belief is that shoegaze is any form of music which helps define the truth through introspection.

I asked five regular participates of the TSS crew to give us their selections which meet their own criteria for shoegaze. Some of our more versed listeners might debate whether these songs fit the true definition of shoegaze but remember these monthly cds are about expansion of the musical mind, attempting to melt away the prejudices keeping us from fully experiencing sound.

I am just as excited as the next guy about exploring these tunes. Enjoy.

(Click the Album to start downloading)

Thank you everyone who submitted their playlists.
Capt AKAK