I was extremely excited about this show as I've been following the collaboration between Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala since 'One Armed Scissor' was a breakthrough single for their band At The Drive-In way back in 2000. At The Drive-In surprised everyone by splintering into two groups after the Relationship of Command album, which featured that infamous song that would often divide dance-floors at the purportedly 'indie' Brighton club nights I used to attend. At The Drive-In were a post-punk band, in that they played heavy, punk music with a DIY ethos long after punk's heyday. With Relationship of Command they had started to morph into something far more interesting and the potential of this showed in the record sales, they were still heavy and chaotic but also melodic and experimental. Clearly this led to a division in the group which led to Omar and Cedric forming The Mars Volta, embracing this new elasticity of sound and taking it to further and further heights. On paper the Latin infused prog-rock of Volta should never have been such a huge success, but aided by a Rick Rubin produced debut album and some guest appearances on record from Flea and John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, followed by some handy support slots on key tours, the Mars Volta were catapulted into super-stardom. It took me a few listens before I was sold, but once it got into my head I became a dedicated fan and bought every single album, sticking by them through every change of lineup (mostly drummers) and enjoying the madness as Omar became more and more of a control freak – writing and producing every note.
Eventually this became too much and the band – which had really only been Omar and Cedric all along – split a couple of years ago following a very public rant from Cedric on twitter, complaining that Omar had let the fans down by refusing to tour their last album 'Noctorniquet', despite forming a new band 'Bosnian Rainbows' and immediately jumping on a bus to tour around Europe with them. It seemed like over a decade of music-making had come to an acrimonious end but then, out of the blue, Antemasque was announced this spring – Omar and Cedric had buried the hatchet and were back with new music, aided once again by their old friend Flea, who lent them his studio to record in and his bass playing for their début EP. There was something deliberately unceremonious about the way all this occurred, no major label fanfare and build up, just tracks dropped one after the other through their Bandcamp page, seemingly because the new group were so pleased with the public reaction.
Having followed these guys for so long I was blown away when I saw that they were playing Brighton as part of their first European show. I was also horrified when I arrived at the venue and found they were already onstage and drawing to the close of set opener 'Hangin' In The Lurch' from their 4 song debut. I hadn't been paying attention and I should as they'd been sticking to a strict routine for all their shows, support band (Le Buthcerettes) on from 8 to 8:45 and Antemasque on-stage at 9 on the dot – off by 10. When I got into the venue the sound was immense, especially as the band were instrumentally a three piece, a far-cry from the multi-member line-ups of Mars Volta. The band were toned down, dressed in dark clothes and lit by minimal, blue lights – until halfway through when Cedric asked for more light on stage to dispel some of the mystery. They are just four guys, having fun, playing some tunes.
The music was as 'back to basics' as you could imagine such inventive minds to come up with, they'd kept things simple, short arrangements, powerful syncopated chorus sections alongside groovy verse sections where the guitar, bass and drums weave around each others spaces. Dave Elitch, who had toured with Volta, but not recorded with them, was a powerhouse in the centre of the stage, a solid beat machine that drove every song straight into your skull. Joining the band on bass was Omar's younger brother Marfred (not to be confused with Marcel who played percussion and synthesiser with Mars Volta) who stuck close by Elitch's side throughout, as if he was tethered to the hi-hat stand, and played a solid show. Cedric and Omar don't have the crazy energy they used to bring to ATDI shows, but they're certainly animated and the music is powerful, visceral and raw – and you can tell they're enjoying themselves too. Omar impresses, not just with his exceptional guitar playing tonight, but also with his backing vocals, which he's never been well known for. On 'Rome Armed To The Teeth' he sings the sort of line that would have been given to Jim Ward in the ATDI days. Cedric is in fine voice throughout too, even if he insists on drenching it in delay – it's evident that he's found a happy place with his vocal that sits somewhere between the screaming rage of ATDI and the wailing banshee he often became for Mars Volta. I had been worried I might be disappointed tonight as I wasn’t yet completely sold on the Antemasque material I'd heard, but fired in the crucible of a live show I found myself an eager convert, loving every moment of it. Cedric announced a possible album launch date, 9th November, but says it might not be right and that they don't really 'give a fuck'! There's something anti-commercial about this band and the way it has arrived in the wake of the Mars Volta behemoth.
Stand out tracks came at the end of the set, with the extended olympian groove of new song 'Providence', which turns into an epic atmospheric live jam that easily lasts for twenty minutes. Omar and Cedric extend the sonic potential of the group with delayed vocals and guitar loops wrapped around the awesomely tight rhythm section. They finished the night on the catchiest number from the debut EP 'People Forget' gets the crowd singing along to the refrain, “People forget/people seem to forget/well I'm just here to remind you" and then they are gone at the strike of ten – leaving the crowd begging for more.
Adam Kidd