HELLBOUND.CA @ NXNE 2015
Immense expressiveness. Power, boldness, no need for pomp at all. I don’t believe anybody could really sum this kind of performance up in a screen-friendly number of words, but that’s coming close.
Sometimes we say “expert musicianship” when we want to say a performer is incredibly impressive. Also it seems those who warrant that description are also charismatic, able to put a hold on an audience, captivating, enthralling. The audience in these ideal moments are no longer just casual listeners or mere observers, they are fully immersed in the art of those on stage. So, heck yeah, one could say that Om “surpassed all my expectations” of an act associated with legendary psychedelic desert gods Sleep. Even that sounds way too much like a report card, man, how do you really describe this sound? It’s meditative, it’s full of chants, it’s rumbling.
To talk about Robert Lowe just for a minute, because his presence was probably the most indelible of the evening. This is someone, a multi-talented performer on the keys, tambourine and vocals, who at times doesn’t sing, or do a falsetto, or screech. The sound he wails into the mic is astounding to hear. A bit like wild calls, perhaps bird calls, from lush oases. There I go starting to get all metaphorical, so here are some photos of the performance…
