Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby,
I just got back from the Alcest concert, and........oh, man. I sure hope you got to see 'em in Chicago. I am guessing you went - because you of all people would (probably) be there - but since you didn't post anything about it, I also thought "well, maybe she couldn't go because of work". But I hope you went, at any rate, and if you didn't go you will go next time for sure.
I got down to Sunset Boulevard (by myself, as usual), parked across from The Roxy and took a walk down The Strip because one of the opening bands was still playing and I didn't want to stand in a jam-packed club getting my ears blown out before Alcest played. They had the set times posted at the box office, which I really like and wish all venues would do, and so I timed my walk to return to The Roxy about 20 minutes before showtime. I figured the opening band would be off by then.
But they weren't. My mistake. I went into the club, and I don't know if it was The Body or Creepers who were onstage, but I was hit with a high decibel wall of low-end white noise. Like somebody was trying to blow out the bass end of the house PA system. This was accompanied by a repeating, metallic percussive sound that was loud enough to pierce an eardrum. The overall effect was that it sounded like I was in Hell. I mean, I am pretty hardcore as you know, and I even raved about seeing Sunn0))) open for Celtic Frost in 2006. But whatever this was made Sunn0))) sound like Gordon Lightfoot. I don't know why I picked him, but he'll do. This wasn't music per se, just a wall of extremely loud distorted sound with a pounding beat. You couldn't see any band members, just images on a screen.
Thank God they were on their last "song" and I only had to endure 5 minutes worth.
Alcest did a very quick set up and were on just 15 minutes after the noise band finished. Well, girl, if you saw 'em you know; they blew the doors off the place. I have seen them four times now, beginning in 2011, and they have gotten better each time. The last two times were killer and this show in particular was just brutal. It's funny, because their records - awesome as they are - don't quite capture the live power of the band. Perhaps because they are produced to accentuate all the different textures involved : the vocal harmonies especially, and the highlights within the dense guitar chordings. On record, the guitars have to be pushed back a tad in the mix, for balance, but live it's just brutal.
It's Brutal I tell you! Simply Brutal!
Certain sections of music were some of the heaviest stuff I've ever heard live. And, Neige did more Black Metal vocals than ever before, probably in half the songs. In the other three Alcest concerts I've seen, he only did one or two songs worth, and he saved them til the end. This time he went all out.
I guess he decided he wanted to be extreme after all. The screams on "Eclosion" especially were of the pin-your-ears-back variety.
Of course, they are not a one trick pony of a band, and they have all that hypnotic, liquid Pink Floyd sounding arpeggiated guitar stuff with beautiful vocals over the top, with just Neige and Zero strumming away and trading vocals. I am too tired right now to check my spelling on the French song titles, but you know which ones I mean, especially Sur L'Ocean......
The sound system couldn't quite handle the complexity of the music, and some of the nuances were muddied at high volume - and we are talking L.O.U.D. - and it would be better if they played one of our Downtown L.A. theaters so that their sound can breathe a bit in a bigger room, but that is a minor complaint tonight because of the power of the show. In concert, Alcest has become like a heavyweight boxer, delivering a major knockout punch to the Hollywood crowd this evening.
The Roxy was packed to the hilt. Lucky for me I found a place to stand on some steps near the back of the club, so I could see over the crowd with clear sightlines, and I was still only about 25 feet away.
All in all, a great concert. Neige hardly spoke to the audience, but I like that because it keeps the momentum going. More and more bands are doing it that way, just sticking to the music - boom-boom-boom - and with Neige, his accent is heavy so it's kind of hard to understand him anyhow.
They ended the show playing with the lights out. No lights onstage, just a few soft green lights above, but you couldn't see the band. It was a very dramatic way to finish. /////
I saw your photo and comment this morning, and when you say that 2017 is shaping up to be your "fastest" year, I hope you mean it in the "time flies when you're having fun" way. :)
I know what you mean, though, and when you get to be my age (there I go with that cliche I swore I'd never use again!).......but when you do get to be my age (and please, take your time doing it), you will see that the years fly by no matter how much fun you are having. :) That's something we have talked about before, how time can fly in The Immediate and seem to last forever in The Aggregate, and that sometimes it can reverse those aspects. But when you are working hard, it sure does seem like days, weeks and months go by like that (snaps fingers).........
Just as long as you are enjoying yourself, that's what counts.
And that's all I know for tonight.
See you in the morn. I Love You. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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