Boredoms are anything but during live show

By Erin Mae Szrankowski
Collegian Editor
April 9, 2008

Going into this show, I was honestly frightened of what was ahead of me. I was under the impression that the Boredoms’ music would send me shaking in my $30 patent leather boots. However, friends of mine still convinced me to go and partake in this so-called “glorious” noise rock. Boy, was I in for something.

April 2, the Starlight Ballroom (a.k.a Club Polaris) was filled to the brim with people. The looks on their faces expressed pure excitement. Never had I witnessed such collective admiration for a band.

The set-up for this show was different compared to others, which was made to fit the Boredoms’ need for space for their many wondrous instruments.

Attached to the main stage was a small collapsible stage. The two opening acts, Soft Circle and Brian Chippendale, used this one. Most were under the impression that all of the bands would play on the middle of the floor, but both stages were set up and disappointed a few people.

The first of two openers was Soft Circle. He was a soloist, whose weapons of choice were a vintage drum machine, drum kit and bass. His drum machine came complete with cheesy/awesome synth beats, which sent the crowd ablaze with motion. Soft Circle used the bass and echo-y vocals to add to his drum machine, while the drums made the music come to life. People seemed to be pleased with his performance.

Brian Chippendale, the second opener, as well as the other half of seminal noise rockers Lightening Bolt, blew the crowd away with his short set. On the mini-stage, Chippendale set up three amps (one looked like Sponge Bob) and two monitors, along with a handful of distortion pedals and a drum kit. Remember, this set-up is all for one guy. On his face, Chippendale wore a homemade mask, complete with a built-in telephone receiver as his microphone. This contraption made his voice, well, sound like he was singing closely into a telephone.

It was easy to tell that people idolized this guy. As he began to play, heads began to bob wildly. The crowd wanted more as Chippendale’s set ended, but to no avail.

So far, this concert was not as bad as I had previously made it out to be.

After the openers, the crew took apart the small stage, and as soon as it was gone, the audience rushed the main, instrument-laden stage. Anticipation began to fill the air and it was contagious.

Boredoms set up quickly. Eye, the leader of the group, brought out these orb-shaped objects which made pitch-oriented music. These fist-sized spheres lit up as he swung them around like a superhero or some anime character. As soon as he signaled for the musical piece to begin, his three drummers clashed away at their hi-hats, causing a flurry of metallic sound.

On and on they went. Eye moved to playing a modified synth keyboard with distortion and reverb functions while the crowd began to get more and more into the music. People swiftly moved around in the front of the stage, pounding their fists to the pulsating beats. Heads bobbed frivolously with glee to this intense music. Most people, as it seemed, were in their natural element.

For the better part of the show I thought to myself, “What the hell is going on?” The music was intricate and like nothing I have ever heard before, especially live. Eye would yell in different pitches which I could never reach, even as a girl. He would use all of his might to create these sounds that sent my ears ringing.

During every musical piece I was captivated by the Boredoms’ precision. The three drummers supplemented each other as they played. As I watched, I was flabbergasted. Synchronization came easily to each drummer, which was a hard feat to grasp. One of the two male drummers did not even break a sweat. This musical mastery must be one of the reasons why Boredoms has such a cult following.

Another reason could be the tower of seven fused electric guitars. There is an unspoken rule which states that all noise artists must have one homemade piece of musical machinery, and this one stood proudly as the crowd went wild over it.

This instrument was first shown to the public at the 77BOADRUM show in New York July 7, 2007. This was a drum circle made up of 77 drummers, female and male, famous and non-famous.

To play this gigantic guitar, one must hit it with mallets, as a fellow band member tunes each guitar neck. Its sound was ominous and near-frightening, but still it was spectacular to see it in action.

The energy basically never wavered. The music was solid and even the band did not look or sound tired. The crowd was also very respectful, except for those once-in-awhile crowd surfers.

For an encore, Boredoms performed “Acid Police,” which, as I was told, has not been played in 10 years. Eye yelled “Acid,” as the crowd yelled “Police.” This song was a great closing to an amazing concert.

szrankowskie1@lasalle.edu