#ICYMI: Post Punk Alive & Well in Seattle
Steal Shit Do Drugs / Sleeping Beauties / The White Tears / Presented by KEXP’s Audioasis
Live @ Chop Suey
Words by Gary Horn; Photos by Joe Chase.
Post Punk is alive and well in Seattle, as evidenced by the lineup KEXP put together at Chop Suey on March 11.
The first few numbers by The White Tears seemed out of place – strong, but oddly slow. Then things changed. Subsequent songs did a good job generating tension, increasing their energy until the band finally lost their shit mid-song, screaming angry lyrics and smashing drum cymbals (and we’re not talking about the drummer here).
Deep distortion, matching chords and choruses with synchronized backup vocals work for these guys. Overall, it was a surprisingly good performance for just the band’s second show.
Next in line was Sleeping Beauties – five buddies crowding the stage with the confident Hart Gledhill stealing most of the attention. The frontman’s convulsing, epileptic, frustrated movements made it hard take your eyes off of him. One minute he’s lifting his shirt to rub his midriff, the next he’s reaching up, trying to hang from the air ducts above.
The band’s sound, hard but also old school, complimented his presence. Instead of relying on typical post punk speed, their songs were at times rhythmic and pulsing and at other times distorted and pounding.
Headliner Steal Shit Do Drugs (pictured above, #41for2016) draws large crowds, not just because they have one of the coolest band names on earth but because they sound great every time. Vocalist Kennedy Carda has range and sings like a banshee in an angry, confrontational style.
At Chop Suey, the guitars were mesmerizing and the bass sounded clean throughout their set. Riffs were interesting and danceable while drums were varied yet consistent. They were the punkest band of the night and the crowd reacted appropriately, shouting obscenities and chucking Rainier beer cans periodically.
Audio recordings courtesy of the bands and Chop Suey. More from Joe Chase at: http://www.joemanchestorphotography.com/.