On October 27, Boris played Irving Plaza as part of their HOPE World Tour. The Japanese experimental-metal greats shared the stage with a pair of local bands: transcendental black metallists Liturgy and throwback shoegazers Asobi Seksu. Greg Cristman is a fantastic NY-based photographer whose work has been featured everywhere from Brooklyn Vegan to Rolling Stone. He shot the Manhattan stop of the HOPE tour for Invisible Oranges, and he shared with us some of his thoughts on the show, too.
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Openers Liturgy were impressive–in fact, better than I expected them to be. They incorporate hypnotic vocal chants into their music that add a unique and haunting angle to their spin on black metal. The band was precise and delivered a powerful 30-minute set but, unfortunately, this was excellent drummer Greg Fox’s last appearance with the band, which may mean an upcoming change to their sound in the near future.
To many, Asobi Seksu was an odd choice to join Boris on this bill, and most could only come up with the fact that both bands feature Japanese members. However, if you listen deeper to Boris’ music—especially to Attention Please, one of two recent albums released simultaneously—you’ll hear that both bands share a passion for shoegaze and incorporate elements of that style into their sound. Asobi Seksu’s set was solid and the highlight was when their lead singer, Yuki, sat down to play drums and was accompanied by Boris’ drummer Atsuo for a powerful conclusion to their set.
While I absolutely love Boris and have become friendly with them over the years, I must say this performance was not quite as mind-melting as usual. They focused heavily on their latest two albums (Attention Please and Heavy Rocks) which, while very good, are definitely not quite as strong as their prior output. However, even when not at their very best, they’re still an excellent live band and with a strong drummer like Atsuo and two brilliant guitarists in Wata and the Japanese God Michio, they’re a stunningly talented outfit especially in a live setting.
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Boris’ tour concludes in Los Angeles on November 12 with Asobi Seksu appearing on a few more dates followed by Joe Lally and Tera Melos.
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no troll but why do people heap praise on the Liturgy drummer? looks to me like poor technique, sloppiness, unnecessary strain/tension. does he even play double bass? not that there aren’t great single bass drummers but i’m just not seeing what it is that makes this guy “excellent”
I saw Liturgy in Pittsburgh back in July. I was underwhelmed by their set. The band really seemed to just be going through the motions/bored/ready to leave for the next town. Now some of that may have been the low turnout (Pittsburgh is awful for live music sometimes) but the band just didn’t impress me (and I’m a fan). Except for the drummer. He was impressive, especially considering how small his kit is. He hit all his notes, didn’t sound at all sloppy or lazy and put on a hell of a visually stimulating performance. So yes, MEATUS, he deserves the lauds. The entire band is technically proficient as anyone, but he really stood out to me. Sad to see him go, the band will most likely be very different.
I saw them at that same Pittsburgh show and remember being really disappointed at the turnout. There’s a reason Pittsburgh doesn’t get decent shows despite some great venues. Greg Fox definitely blew me away that show. I’m sorry to see him leave Liturgy – hope he stays in the metal realm for future projects.
“He hit all his notes”
Ah yes, can’t be THAT difficult with such a minimalist drum kit…
And in any case, why so many CYMBALS? If he can content himself with one snare, one tom and one bass, then one ride, one crash and one charlie should be more than enough…
no offense intended, but this review was not up to the usual standard of this site. one paragraph per band is more suited to a forum post, not an article.
Sorry, I should have made this more clear in the introduction: Greg’s entire assignment here was to shoot this show, and as it was conceived, this Live Report was intended to be presented as a photo set with only a minimal (two- or three-sentence) text intro (written by me). I asked Greg for his thoughts on the show, and he provided me a version of what you read here, which I felt was pretty engaging and worthy of inclusion alongside his shots — shots which, to me, are breathtaking.
Nice photos, Gregg. I can almost hear Atsuo’s “whooo!”
hahaha i love that man! don’t forget his obligatory “YEEEOOOWWW!!!”
I’ve been a fan of Greg’s photography work for quite some time now. Awesome shots!
Love the format here and Greg your shots look amazing on this site!
A rock/fashion show
Anthony Casaldi
Posted November 13, 2011 at 6:34 AM
… Greg Fox definitely blew me away that show. I’m sorry to see him leave Liturgy – hope he stays in the metal realm for future projects.
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I can’t say that i adore Liturgy but Greg Fox is the main reason why I respect this band despite its quirky image. That drummer blew me away!
To me, he’s the only blaster in metal capable of both blasting like the best of them and grooving like “Today is the day” era Brann Dailor( whom I always found amazing). It seems like his choice of focusing on a very small drumkit pays off very well.