Photo Courtesy of Adam Groff
You haven’t really heard Boris until you’ve heard them live. Nothing against their records, but there is no comparison to the very physical experience of their concerts.
Stepping into the Paradise earlier I wondered if i was at the right show. Cowboy hats, long beards and a giant gong? This was my first image of the doom metal band Earth on stage. It only took seconds to realize where I was though as their heavy dinosaur crawl psychedelia consumed the room. Playing songs from as far back as 1996’s Pentastar the music was entrancing as huge waves of sound came off the amps. Having not been a big fan of the genre prior to the show by the second song I was converted. This is the kind of music that needs to be experienced live to be fully appreciated as it leaves listeners in a pseudo narcotic haze. Lost in the sound it was only after that I noticed there were no vocals or a bassist.
Entering the stage later to screeching feedback, Boris immediately established an atmosphere. Opening with “Blackout” they somehow sounded even slower than Earth making them seem like a punk band in contrast. Right from the start it was obvious this wasn’t going to be a predictable front to back album revisiting (several Forbidden Songs were mixed into the setlist!). Switching up between Motorhead riffage (“Pink”, Six Three Times. Woman on the Screen) and slower material (“Talisman”,” Nothing Special”, ‘Farewell”) it felt like I was watching two separate bands. The audience showed no preference as they turned from statues to maniacs depending on the song. The near sickening volume throughout was the only thing that did seem to have an effect as many people would give up their closer spots in acquiescence to the noise onstage. Their set would be an endurance challenge and nothing would test those boundaries further than their version of “Just Abandoned Myself”. Already a reckless track they tore into it like a wild animal but what stood out most was halfway through as the drumming stopped and was traded instead for a feedback pedal that pushed the music into a dizzy and disorienting territory. By the end of the show it felt like I was walking away from a disaster area.
Earth Setlist:
* Introduction / Coda Maestoso in F (Flat) Minor
* Even Hell Has Its Heroes
* The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull
* Torn by the Fox of the Crescent Moon
* Old Black
* High Command
Boris Setlist: .
* Blackout
* Pink
* Woman on the Screen
* Nothing Special
* N.F. Sorrow
* Pseudo-Bread
* Afterburner
* Six, Three Times
* Talisman
* Are You Ready?
* Electric
* My Machine
* Just Abandoned Myself
* Farewell
Encore:
* Memento Mori
* Killmister
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CjsaFBQA1Q
