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Concert Tue Jun 01 2010
Pro-Climactic
Enemy continues its ongoing quest to suck the life out of otherwise fun situations with programs and performances that, while not for everybody, are singularly unique experiences. When Enemy co-conspirator Jason Soliday told me that he was planning on making a plaque to hang over the front door that said, "no money, no ego, no prestige....just noise," it was a no-shit-sherlock moment. Of course. When Cock E.S.P. debuted their soul-draining aktionist-noise-theatrical confrontation early last month, the disgust in the room was palpable. You could reach out and grasp it out of the air. And then, fellow touring-mate Crank Sturgeon created his typically uplifting contact mic-driven hootenanny and it was like we were all back with our favorite grade school teacher, the one who made everything fun, only now he was wearing a fish costume and playing a contact mic'd bucket of water with his foot. Folks, that's entertainment. As the world trundles thoughtlessly toward its inevitable (and messy) demise, demand spectacle of the highest order! Anything less is a waste of precious moments.
Oh, and speaking of, there's another to-do at Enemy (1550 N. Milwaukee, 3rd Floor) this Friday, and it's a corker. Boasting six acts and a $5 donation for the touring acts, it's hard to imagine a conflicting event so compelling, a nap on the couch after work so compelling, that you wouldn't end up making it.
Exhibit 1: Climax Denial. Milwaukee's Alex Kmet has blessed the Midwest with a strange take on the Power Electronics genre. Rather than reveling in power, domination, the extremities of life and all that rot, Kmet casts his narrator not as predator, but as possum. By recasting the voice of power electronics performance as a submissive, a foot-worshiping slave, Kmet a glaring halogen lamp into the dark corners, alternating between mewling for sympathy and snarling the snarl of a cornered raccoon. His sonics are head and shoulders above, and his release schedule just prolific enough -- not a lot of filler in the catalog, but never much moss under the feet, either.
Also from Milwaukee, Slow Owls are like the squiggly instrumental parts on Loveless run through old tape recorders, then recorded over partially with your own jam sessions, mysterious murk and simultaneous chaotic stabs, but with melodic contours and, y'know, other nice things.
Neither Jason Soliday solo project nor Vadim Sprikut's project Shattered Hymen are any stranger to the Enemy stage. As one would hope, both performers learn (and apply) something new from every performance, sharpening focus and delivering the unexpected. Soliday can be loud, soft, or in-between. Sprikut always looking to exterminate.
Vertonen's Blake Edwards has been a busy boy this year. Whether he's dropping new bombshell titles on his Crippled Intellect Productions label (including an upcoming Joe Colley 3LP box set that has the fanatics drooling on their dinner plates) or refining Vertonen's wide vision on new topics (check out his recent CD, We Had A Few Sprinkles, But Not Enough To Help Out In The Garden for his most fascinating experiment, a recording of Jim Jones' People's Temple completely stripped of its system of its referents, creating a funhouse mirror of eerily calm domesticity -- Jonestown without the Jonestown), the sets, be they 5 minutes or 35, generally offer something new.
Finally, an open call to show opener Brent π: please tell me about yourself. I've got nothing here.
Friday, 9 p.m., bring cash for out of town merch, etc., etc. Enemy is located at 1550 N. Milwaukee, 3rd Floor.
