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The Black Angels + SUUNS – La Sala Rossa – 12.04.11

April 14, 2011 in Show Reviews

The Black Angels‘ latest release was a definite step up from their past two albums in the sense that it incorporated a lot more pulse and a bit less of their quite obvious psychedelic influences. Tuesday night we had the chance to catch them play at la Sala Rossa along with Montreal’s own, SUUNS.

SUUNS were up first, opening the evening with an incredibly strong performance. As the beat from “Armed for Peace” from their debut album Zeroes Qc shook up the whole venue, it was hard not to be mesmerized by Suuns’ remarkable stage presence. It was even harder not the get caught up in their extremely catchy music. The four members were standing in a line with their instruments along the edge of the stage which was a bit of an odd set up. Actually, the whole thing felt a little odd, but in a way that actually felt really good. Singer and guitarist Ben Shemie was almost spitting out some of the lyrics, curling up behind the microphone during “ Up Past the Nursery”, amping up the oddness factor even further. Their clever mix of electronic music and distorted guitars gave them a unique flare and they ended up delivering an amazing opening set.

Around 11 PM, The Black Angels finally appeared on stage.They started their set in front of a packed and excited audience with a wavy black and white background behind them. Half the venue probably couldn’t see Stephanie Bailey, the drummer, as she was completely hidden by Kyle Hunt’s imposing keyboard, but for those who were wondering, yes, there was indeed a drummer. They opened the show with “Bloodhound On My Trails” from their first album Passover. They started off strong and kept on going for the next couple of songs with the same dazzling energy. They continued with “Haunting at 1300 McKinley” and “Yellow Elevator #2” from their latest album Phosphene Dream. At one point, it did start to feel a bit dreary. Hunt kept his eyes closed during the entire performance, and really, he could have played to an empty room and I don’t think he would have noticed as he was clearly in his own world. The other members of the group seemed more conscious of the audience but overall, the energy wasn’t transferring to the crowd very well. They ended the show with “Telephone” from their third album and left us on a good note. While the performance stayed in my head for a good few hours after the show, I’m not sure it was good enough to be remembered the next morning.

– Camille Gervais