Sweet Shows So Far This Year

Kylesa at Great Scott: Awesome. Totally stoked to see these guys in such a cozy venue, especially considering that they’re playing the cultural shitshow known as Bonnaroo to a few thousand Trustafarians in a few months.

I didn’t need any mescaline to have a great time here. I’ve seen Kylesa a few times, most recently with High on Fire at the Middle East, but they were a serious force at this show. The dual-drummer attack is about 400 percent more effective live than on record. The unison tom-tom rolls in “Said And Done” were as heavy as a Krisiun show. Nice setlist too, with a mix of spacey vibes off Spiral Shadows, the scorchers off Static Tensions, and a few nods to their crustier past. Also, Philip Cope played a theremin.

Cave In at Great Scott: The night’s highlights were supposed to come from Wino and Scott Kelly’s acoustic sets, but Cave In stole the show with a sort-of surprise showing in front of a home crowd. They were stripped down in the spirit of the rest of the show, with Steve on acoustic, Adam and Caleb plugged in but at a low volume, and JR on a minimal kit (though he made room for a hi-hat tambourine). I wasn’t familiar with any of the tunes they played, but they were each dynamic and lush, played with a delicate touch. The whole bar was packed, and at least the front half of the room was totally captivated. I could get used to seeing this version of Cave In more often (though “Juggernaut” still rules).

It looked like most folks left after Cave In did, and they didn’t miss much. The notion of acoustic sets from hippie-metal legends is awesome, and their intentions and performances seemed sincere, but as intimate as the venue seemed for Kylesa, it was too impersonal for this gig. It was also the first gig where I’ve been told by venue staff to — literally — keep it down. Bogus bro.

Misery Index and Eyehategod, Club Lido: Weirdest venue. It’s in the ass-crack of Boston’s Jersey Shore, more popular for Latin dance nights than any rock or metal shows and way too big for the crowd. I’d guess about 400 people came out for a room that holds easily three times as many people, but my estimates could be way off since it was such a mismatch.

I had a blast anyway. It was the best I’ve heard Misery Index play since I first saw them at New England Metalfest way back in 2002. The setlist leaned more on groovier and punkier fare than I’d ever heard from them (“The Spectator,” “Multiply by Fire” (drunk!) “Defector” to name a few) but they still blasted out some burners too.

Eyehategod was their usual misanthropic selves. Personally, nothing will match their gig at the Middle East in 2009 in terms of sheer power — I could not hear right for a week, no exaggeration — but it’s impossible to not get into them.