Photos: Boris @ Irving Plaza

Boris @ Irving Plaza - October 27, 2011

When Japanese noise-rock band Boris released Pink in 2005, it was released to extremely positive reviews, garnering large attention to the previously obscure group. The album is a behemoth of a listen, shuffling between psychedelia, sludge rock, droning metal riffs and melodic harmonies. And the production… man, the production on that album is just incredible. It just sounds so thick, and yet snappy in all the right places. Needless to say, it was one of my favorite albums that year.

For whatever reason, my chance to check them out in a live setting just never happened (that oddly occurs with a lot of bands, even when you go to 3-4 shows a week), but last night I finally got the chance to see them at Irving Plaza. A few hours beforehand, excited to see Boris, BBG (BrooklynVegan’s metal correspondent) warned me that they were not as amazing as I had been lead to believe. Generally I like my expectations to be lowered before going to see a band, as it usually makes for a much more enjoyable experience when you’re blown away by greatness. Unfortunately, BBG was right.

There’s something present in Boris’s recordings that just didn’t come across live last night. Where I was expecting a sludgy and hypnotic performance, I instead felt more like I was watching a band being told they needed to tone it down a bit. That’s not to say it was a bad show—songs like “Riot Sugar and “Statement” got the show off to a nice start—but soon after I felt like I was watching Boris-lite. It could have been that the crowd seemed absolutely stagnant throughout the set, which is not something I would have expected considering the hectic nature of their albums. Regardless, it was a reminder that sometimes bands achieve something on record that is just very difficult to reproduce live.

The highlight of the night for me, however, was catching opener Asobi Seksu’s cover of The Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Never Understand” as the second to last song of their set (I missed the first opener, Liturgy). Obviously a perfect cover for the dreamy shoegaze group, singer Yuki Chikudate bounced around the stage whipping her hair back and forth like a seven year old high on caffeine. I’ve seen Asobi a couple times before (and their drummer intermittently works at the rehearsal studio where my band practices), but I was actually more impressed by them than I was expecting. So the night wasn’t all full of disappointments…

Check out a full set of photos of both Asobi Seksu and Boris below…

Who will fill Mogwai’s slot at ATP?

Late yesterday, Scottish post-rockers Mogwai postponed their tour (again), this time due to medical reasons. We’re hoping everything is okay, but in the meantime we can’t help but wonder who will fill the gaping hole between Sunday’s 8:15pm – 9:15pm slot at this weekend’s ATP I’ll Be Your Mirror Festival. Mogwai would have been playing Convention Hall in between Public Enemy and headliners (and curators) Portishead, which means it will have to be a pretty big act to fill their shoes. Here are some artists that are in town this weekend who just may step up to the plate…

Asobi Seksu – the Brooklyn-based shoegaze group certainly would fit in with a lot of the bands on the bill. Don’t know how well they’d be received after Public Enemy, but you never know. They play Brooklyn Bowl the night before, with nothing on their schedule until October 15.

Tapes ‘n Tapes – hey… remember Tapes ‘n Tapes? They put out that really great album The Loon in 2006 and then… I don’t really know what happened. That record still stands the test of time and I probably would have gone seen them at Bowery Ballroom on Friday if it were not for ATP. TnT play Maxwell’s on 10/1, but have nothing on their schedule until Monday in North Carolina.

Elvis Costello – who wouldn’t want to see Elvis Costello at ATP? It would be killer. Elvis will be playing United Palace in New York City on Saturday, and Count Basie Theatre on Monday, but nothing on Sunday. If they twist his arm to play This Year’s Model in full, there will be a lot of happy concertgoers.

Explosions in the Sky – Don’t quote me on it, but I’m almost certain Explosions in the Sky played ATP last year, and would definitely fill the void post-rock fans are yearning for. EITS play Wellmont Theater on Monday, October 3, but have nothing scheduled beforehand. There is a very good chance they will take the slot.

Radiohead – We’re probably the only ones who have been suggesting this might happen, but we don’t really care. Portishead’s drummer Clive Deamer also happens to be touring with Radiohead now (as seen on SNL), and aside from Wednesday and Thursday’s Roseland Ballroom shows, the band have nothing on their schedule. An announcement of Radiohead playing ATP will certainly sell out Sunday’s tickets (and possibly the entire festival), making it one of the most memorable weekends of recent times. We’ve been praying every morning when we wake up and every night before we go to sleep that this happens, but honestly, it would be a bit of a stretch. Stranger things have happened…

Anyone else in town you think might show up? A friend of mine suggested Bruce Springsteen yesterday, which would be ironically funny and actually really amazing. Until ATP actually announces something, anything is possible.