On a brighter note, happy to see there is actually a thread for live shows. Hooray! I have to say that I have seen a number of standout acts this year that do not get their flowers much. Perhaps it is because of minimal output/online presence. Let me highlight here:
Robert Fuchs & YU//F came and played New Jersey in April, and it turned out to be a surprisingly good turnout for a Thursday night! I have said it once before but it is funny to know that college students up at Rutgers see what we do up there and call it "The New Brunswick Noise." Half the time you maybe get one jersey local on shows. hah.
As for these performances though, both artists were on point. YU//F started out with some crushing, crude harsh before descending into some absolutely stellar tape ambient. Robert Fuchs did his usual mixer feedback spiel but something felt different about it this time. It felt far more dialed in and ferocious. Definitely the best time I had seen Dean perform.
In May, I played up in Providence, Rhode Island as part of a tour with Max Julian Eastman & Fricker. This gig was particularly noteworthy for having the best performance I saw on those round of shows, courtesy of a virtual unknown in Causis. His actual name is Keegan BH, and I mention that as I have no idea whether the Causis name is meant to stick or not. However, it shouldn't matter when the noise rips as hard as it did with him. 4 track manipulations brought through a harsher, more cut-up vibe. Not at all how I would approach tape noise, and I am not sure how he accomplished what he did. I was pretty hard drunk at that point, and this set did the trick. We can only hope for a release to come soon, as I think this is an artist more people need to hear.
I must continue throwing my praise towards the young bunch of New Jersey who are stepping up their live work. I already mentioned Scronch once before on here but their performances as Storage Locker Suicide have gotten better each time I see it this year. They have another friend named Ian who performs under the name MSDS. Tons of harsh tape manipulation. Like I said with Causis, MSDS does things with tape that I would never think to do and that was certainly displayed in the set I saw of theirs. Think of a Dilloway meets Facialmess type of performance. Pretty rad!
PCRV delivered an electrifying set with his first ever performance in New Jersey. Feel like tons of people had been posting about his sets on the usual social media channels but it was the real deal that has to be mentioned again. The old guard shows no sign of slowing down here.
Lastly, must mention again that the Sheer Anxiety duo I saw with Andrea Pensado & Christopher Strunk a few weeks ago was brilliant. A great combination of harsh electronics, vocal freak outs and percussive fury!
