Empty Bottle - Chicago, IL
November 30, 2013
Supergroup is a term that 1) is used too often and 2) scares me. For every Cream and Down, there's many more bands like Hellyeah, Chickenfoot....and Damnocracy. I had reservations about Corrections House, but their lineup does come with influential pedigree: Mike IX Williams of Eyehategod on vocals, Scott Kelly of Neurosis on guitar, Yakuza‘s Bruce Lamont handling noise, backing vocals and sax (more on that later), and prolific producer/Minsk member Sanford Parker at the helm of a laptop, drum machine, and sampler.
My concern was how they'd bring their respective styles together into one cohesive unit. I'm a huge EHG and Neurosis fan, but -- despite their Chicago backgrounds -- less a fan of the creative output from Lamont and Parker. I was going to skip the show, but then I received two texts from friends at Empty Bottle. So I caved, called a car on Uber and headed over.
The skinny pants/neck beard crowd was out in force for this show. I had a beer, or four, and Bloodyminded went on stage. I'm not going to pretend to know their history, but apparently they just released an album for the first time in seven years. People around me seemed to care, at least as much as that type of crowd shows it cares: subtle head nods while otherwise looking bored to death with their existence on this planet.
To me, Bloodyminded sounded like the bullshit droning sound effects some bands put between songs. Sort of like Rob Zombie, but without the kitschiness. I kept waiting for something to happen, but instead it just droned on and on and....I had to exit. I see that Pitchfork has given their new ponderous bullshit album a favorable review. Nuff' said.
When Corrections House finally took the stage, they were all dressed in black uniforms with a CH logo on their arm and back. It kinda reminded me of Anthrax lately, Slipknot, or.... Devo. Anyway, Parker laid the groundwork with a bunch of Industrial Metal sounding beats, samples, and noise. Lamont joined him to add to the flourish of volume. And that's when I noticed the saxophone. I had forgotten about Lamont playing the sax, but I recoiled in fear at the thought of willingly subjecting myself to it. I'd rather get a root canal than listen to a saxophone.
 |
| I blended the CH logo with the band onstage because I can be pretentiously artsy too. |
The sounds being created wore thin on me. Finally, Mike IX and Kelly appeared, and the sweet and familiar Scott Kelly tone made its appearance. Mike IX clutched a notebook and alternated between spoken word and more of his typical screaming/singing. There were moments when it worked, and it worked well. A violent storm of Mike IX's guttural screams of desperation, and Kelly's tone and low end vocals layered over the existing noise is something you'd listen to after the end of the world.
Unfortunately, there's a very fine line between experimentation and obnoxiousness. And this set veered toward the latter far too much. I'm all for ugly, loud, and punishing music that challenges me. But the art project component here killed the vibe. And then there was that fucking saxophone. It didn't matter that Lamont ran it through an effects pedal. It's still a saxophone and it still ruins my night.
Subsequent listens of the new album Lost City Zero have created a weird scenario where I enjoy the album more than the live experience. But even then, it's not an album I'll listen to on a regular basis. I like it when artists try to veer from the center and do something uniquely their own -- but only if it works. And it turns out that doom + drone + noise + spoken word + fucking saxophone doesn't work.
Corrections
House, whose lineup reads like a list of influences. Mike Williams of
Eyehategod on vocals, Scott Kelly of Neurosis on guitar, Yakuza‘s Bruce
Lamont handling sax, backing vocals and noise, and producer/Nachtmystium
member Sanford Parker - See more at:
http://theobelisk.net/obelisk/2013/01/22/corrections-house-live-review/#sthash.6vRNU8Yt.dpuf
Corrections
House, whose lineup reads like a list of influences. Mike Williams of
Eyehategod on vocals, Scott Kelly of Neurosis on guitar, Yakuza‘s Bruce
Lamont handling sax, backing vocals and noise, and producer/Nachtmystium
member Sanford Parker - See more at:
http://theobelisk.net/obelisk/2013/01/22/corrections-house-live-review/#sthash.6vRNU8Yt.dpuf
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