April 4, 2013 • Ace of Cups, Columbus, Ohio
I got a little too excited when I heard Floor had reunited after several years, as successor band Torche has long been a favorite for me and I saw them play last fall. It turns out it's not a temporary one-off thing, as they're apparently going to record a new album, but I'm glad I went to the show anyway, as it was definitely a good one.
Mockingbird
These guys were surprisingly good. They played some typical stoner/doom, which was deceptively simple stuff at first, but turned into some surprisingly complex and intricate metal. They start with some pretty basic chunky riffs, but add some neat polyrhythms, odd time signatures, and some highly varying song structures. Special props to the drummer, who really knew what he was doing and was interesting to watch. It's probably a good thing that their stuff was mostly instrumental as the vocalist/guitarist didn't seem to know how to use a mic. Entire set
• Best Mutton Chops Award
Thrones
Before the show started I only knew two things about Thrones—it's a one-man project, and he has a huge lumberjack beard—and one of those wasn't even true. But for a one-man project he put on an interesting show for sure. The setup was one bass guitar, one drum machine, and some effects pedals; as simple as that. The focal point was the basswork, and did he ever beat that bass harder than I've ever see anyone play—I don't think I've ever seen anyone manage to get pinch harmonics out of a bass. The use of effects was nice, resulting in a good huge heavy sound. The music itself wasn't the greatest, though, and for the most part I didn't really enjoy the songs at all. They were seemingly structureless and impossible to follow, just notes following each other with no context. I guess I was in the minority of people who didn't care for the songs, though. Entire set
• Most Awkward Moments When You Just Stand There as the Sampler Plays Award
Floor
An excellent show, as I had expected. If you didn't already know, it'd be hard to tell that Floor broke up around ten years ago, as their performance was spot-on. As with Torche, it was a pretty energetic show for such a doomy band and you could tell they were simply having fun together again. It was nice to hear a some old stuff I recognized mixed with some new material, which was about just as good as they've ever been (though they have always had the occasional boring tune that's just pounding that low note over and over). I hadn't actually listened to them in a while and their material was a bit more diverse than I remember—some Torche-style stoner, some doom, even a couple hardcore bits, surprisingly. All in all, a worthwhile show; I'm glad to see they're back and it's like nothing has changed. Entire Set
• Lowest Tuning Award
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