Though it had been 15 years since Neurosis last played Toronto, I must confess that I hadn’t waited nearly that long; I caught ’em in Brooklyn in 2012. Nevertheless, it was a rare East Coast performance for the post-sludge godfathers, and one that came with some welcome opening acts–in sharp contrast to that NYC show. (Seriously, where the hell was Hull!?)
Last time I saw The Body, they just about blew the roof off an indie-rock venue, knocking out the power at one point and sending the hipsters scurrying. This performance, at the massive Opera House, was much more understated, though they still banged out a solid 25-minute opening set.
Now, I didn’t love that Brothers of the Sonic Cloth record when it came out, but was still interested to see ’em in the flesh. Pretty sure the last time Tad Doyle was in town, he was opening for Mudhoney or something…but his new outfit clearly fits within the realm of stoner/doom. Hell, Neurosis liked ’em so much they signed ’em to Neurot, in case you were wondering how they landed that opening slot. And all in all, I’d say they did a decent job of getting us geeked up for the headliners.
Neurosis might actually have been the best-sounding band I’ve ever seen at the Opera House. Their tunes came through clean, clear and loud–but of course, I was already prepared for the latter. I suspect this had something to do with Billy Anderson working behind the scenes; pretty sure I saw the dreadlocked dude setting stuff up and he has done live sound for ’em in the past. But in any case, it was a very solid set. I’d put this one right up there with the Melvins and Electric Wizard as one of the best shows I’ve seen this year…and nothing else really comes close!
