CBSM - Probably the "noisiest" set other than Skin Crime, less for strictly sonic reasons than compositional ones though. Two guys playing semi-collaged sounds from various acoustic objects and a turntable. It was like AMK run through a distortion pedal! I thought it was solid, but some of the other attendees I spoke with were less into them than other acts.
Commuter - It turned out that Mr. Commuter was a friend of a guy I played a show with in San Diego (what a small world to run into people where you least expect them?). Solid contemporary power electronics, but a bit too "atmospheric" for my tastes at points. I did get a CD, so I'll spend more time before judging the project as a whole, as it seems to have some interesting thematic and compositional approaches. As was a problem with all of the power electronics musicians last night, the vocals were mixed WAY too low.
Service Animal - Aside from the headliners, this was my favorite set. The vocals were low again, but he seemed to process them in parallel with his synth, grinding everything into the same filth. The set could have been longer! I heard from a friend, however, that this set was very different from what this project typically sounds like?
Imminent Death - Like Commuter, this was basic, solid contemporary power electronics. There were a few, really small technical mistakes near the end of the set. Again, though, the vocals were way too low! If you are going to do power electronics, then make sure the power comes from the voice too.
FFH - This is what I flew from San Diego to see. He had some technical difficulties with the mic generating unwanted noise, but aside from that everything was great. The vocals were loud enough to be painful, and the noise had significantly more presence than any prior performance. The full-on noise portion was fantastic. I was surprised by how minimal his setup was, but I guess it goes to show the value of the "less is more" philosophy. My only complaints are: (1) Too short of a set! (2) No merch!
Skin Crime - The true highlight of the evening. Narrative structure without the loss of in-the-moment energy. Massive sounds without the obscuring of detail. Unlike FFH, the table was packed with gear. Noise! Noise! Noise!
In all, I was in Portland for less than 24 hours (landing just before 2:00 on the day of the show, in the air again at 10:00 in the morning the next day), yet I already want to move there. A great night!
