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I've been dissecting the aesthetics behind this newfound love of/appreciation for harder music. On one side are grindcore bands (like the Locust and the Dillinger Escape Plan, who I've been listening to insanely the past few days), that are descended from death metal, with an extremely harder edge. Compare the Locust (especially their first EP) and Death side by side: the screaming is there, the heavy, dense chords changes are there, so is the intricate guitar work and precise drumming. The Locust just adds more noise. On the other side are hardcore bands, especially newer hardcore, which are simply direct descendants of the 80s hardcore scene, bands like Black Flag and the Circle Jerks. The newer bands might (MIGHT) be harder or faster or louder, or sloppier, but they're essentially the same.
Tonight we went to a Doctors Without Borders benefit at the Workmen's Circle. This place is like a cross between a Socialist Youth hall and a JCC, with a dash of the Smell. At the merch table was an ad for the Makkabees new album, "Ju Metal: death metal versions of your favorite Jewish folk songs." Right.
The Mae Shi started out and played a characteristically outstanding set. I always describe them as no-wave, "you know, like the Contortions or Teenage Jesus & the Jerks," but nobody knows what I'm talking about. They're punk rock like the Talking Heads are. Fun, noisy, loud, falling all over themselves (Jeff tripped over the PA stand). Really, really, fun. They have such a good time making their noise, and that feeling filters out into the audience. No Buchla tonight; apparently Ezra forgot it or something, but they still managed to rock noisily. [Did I mention they're playing with the Polydactyls at the Smell on the 25th?]
Wives played next, and I was especially stoked to see them (but only because I've seen the Mae Shi numerous times before). Turns out they're more or less straight ahead hardcore. Really fucking loud; my ears still hurt. They definitely put on a good show, encouraging the crowd to come continuously closer and eventually ending up in the audience themselves. My only complaint is the simplicity. I don't think this has much to do with the genre, simplistic as it is. I expect the newer bands to throw some abstraction in and freak out a little more. Wives pretty much banged on one note for every song. That's what hardcore's about, though, and they did pull it off decently.
More screaming! More distortion! More patch boards!