March 15 • loud house

It was a drizzly night as show attendees made their way to the Loud House for a night of all Seattle bands. The show began with SuperProjection. SuperProjection songs are slow and self-aware, each chord sauntering into the next – I recognized some from a recent cassette entitled Piano Goldsticks. Different from the cassette, however, was the accompaniment of sparse, atmospheric drums. The singer’s voice is captivating; for most of the set it’s low and warbling, illustrating well-thought speculations and probable disasters. Every once in a while it reaches a higher register, crooning and shrill. It’s when this happens that the lulled crowd pricks up a bit. The early crowd at this house is always my favorite. Everyone’s holding their first beer. Everyone’s quietly attentive and feels just a little aware of their presence within their own skin.
After stepping out shortly, I came back in to see there was a lot of motion, people pushing each other and shaking their butts. These would prove to be popular activities for the evening. Snuff Redux offered a slew of fun power pop songs – their set had the cohesively hashed-together feel of a slew of songs. That guitarist did some cool things with an analog delay while the bassist laid down the dub. It was a groovin time straight out the Peavey.
Next up was MTNS – they played Yellingham in 2011, other than then I’m not sure when else they’ve been up here. I huddled in the corner by the kitchen with a few other people who weren’t down to get quite as tossed around, and had a direct view of the magic that was unfolding. Two warlocks, one wielding a bass guitar, the other a drum arsenal, trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with their SVT. Their amps could be mistaken for the backline. They brought a bunch of other fun things with them too: cool friends, BOSS Super Shifters, a projector aimed at the ceiling, a vial with a dropper. The SVT came back in, and the difference was immediate. It was a punch to the chest. A ready crowd was blasted with squarewaves of raw air. Drummer Daniel shouted up at the heavens in feedback-laden ecstasy. Halfway through he stood atop his throne so everyone could see him strip of the dress he was wearing.
I’m not sure in what sequence these events occurred, but within the same span of time MTNS ended and the cops came. People were ushered in from outside or dipped. A short while later one of the show organizers announced that the cops had been there, but despite the risk he couldn’t pull the plug on this next band.
If there’s a band to follow MTNS in the city of due lethargy, it’s Bainbridge Island’s Weed. I’ve seen Weed twice before, and this was definitely the best. From the impression I’ve gotten, Weed take the stoner rock sound and implement more psychedelic rock songwriting progressions. The whole set had powerful direction. We travelled under ancient bridges and through caverns, over flaming embers and former sites of land mines. The set as a whole served as a journey, and we were not in the same place when the music came to a roaring close as we were when we started.
-Nick Emard