Xaviers, BK & Dad and The Day The Robots Came // NAC, 21.02.2014
Another Saturday and another mostly excellent Pony Up night at the Arts Centre.
Xaviers, BK & Dad and The Day The Robots Came // NAC, 21.02.2014
First up is The Day The Robots Came, a duo of Jez on guitar and Bill on drums and cello. Having a song called 'Gremlin" gives the game away. This is post-rock in the vein of Mogwai, although Explosions In The Sky may be a bigger influence and there are fleeting hints of Flying Saucer Attack, early Silver Mt Zion and Set Fire To Flames. Not bad, just lacking individuality. (5/10)
Despite or maybe because of some technical issues, BK & Dad's set is a triumph. A brilliant combination of thunderous drums and cacophonous looped guitar, I’ve seen BK & Dad a number of times before but never have the likes of 'Mundy' sounded so fine. (9/10)
Headliners Xaviers feature Bo Ningen's Yuki Tsujii and Akihide "Mon-Chan" Mona on guitar and drums, respectively, along with visual artist Kenichi Iwasa on synths and percussion. The set is one improv piece, sounding as I imagined Can would before I actually heard Can: noisy experimentation driven by a motorik beat. When Iwasa pounds his drum, this may be the closest I‘ll get to seeing a Kodo drummer in action. A stunning set. (9/10)
