Boris + Torche + Clouds - Middle East Downstairs (Cambridge, MA; July 11, 2008)

Whatever can be said about Boris has been said a thousand times. Yes, they jump genres like an Olympic hurdler. They’ve put out a billion releases, from drone-doom epics and crust-punk workouts to serene soundtracks and collaborations with extreme music gods like Merzbow and Keiji Haino. Despite such seemingly varied output there are always two words you can use to describe Boris: HEA…..VY. If you’re a fan of heavy music, you’ll find at least one Boris release out there that you’re guaranteed to love, even if the rest aren’t your cup of tea. So it was fitting that they filled out a concert bill on Friday at the Middle East Downstairs that was likeminded in one sense (HEAVY, if I didn’t make that clear), yet still gave you a few different styles to try on for size.

Boston’s own Clouds opened the night with a booming set equally spread between last year’s debut album, Legendary Demo and the forthcoming We Are Above You. These guys know how to put on a show, as their stage presence alone would’ve probably been enough to inspire the mosh pit that broke out just a couple songs in. Bodies and vocals were unhinged from the get-go and the music seemed to hang by a thread; runaway punk-boogie numbers that would make for great stoner rock if the band was capable of playing a couple ticks slower, which I’m not sure they are. And that’s not a bad thing.

Torche was up next, and most resembled the biggest touchstone of all three bands, Melvins, especially with the plodding teeth-grind of the set-closer “Meanderthal”. But most of their set seemed—like Clouds’—sped up to the point of transforming something familiar into something new and different. What might have been written as torch songs (pun totally intended!) became crushing anthems in the band’s hands. The crowd knew it and pumped fists/threw elbows accordingly.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when Boris took the stage and finally utilized the gigantic gong that had been looming over the previous two bands. I was sure they’d play at least a few selections from their excellent new album Smile and their 2006 U.S. “breakthrough” Pink. But I sort of hoped they would slip in a half-hour drone swamp too, just for fun. I was sort of got my wish.

The lighter-worthy opener “Flower, Sun, Rain” gave way to a crash-and-burn run of some of the more earth-scorching tunes from Smile and Pink. In contrast to the quarantined etiquette of Clouds’ and Torche’s mosh pits, now there was no way to tell where the crowd chaos began or ended. Just total mayhem. The gorgeous spaceship ride of “My Neighbor Satan” ushered in the second half of the set which was much more subdued than the first. Basically one long medley centered around Smile’s final two tracks. Boris’ second half was a bit of a letdown in comparison to the first. The still-amped-up crowd kept waiting for an explosion that never came, and, save for a few pyrotechnics from guest guitarist Michio Kurihara, they had to be content with the blistering heat of the venue instead of another dose of the blistering rock they had enjoyed earlier. Although it wasn’t a true and total drone-fest, the unfortunate result was several barely-stifled yawns in the audience and a weary crowd without the energy to cheer Boris back out for what I’m sure would’ve been the encore they were waiting for.

Despite the somewhat lackluster ending, Boris and their openers provided enough headbang fuel that I could barely move my neck for the next day and a half. If that’s not the sign of a good time had, I don’t know what is.

review to your liking? You'll sweat:

The Camp + Apathy - Middle East Upstairs (Cambridge, MA; Apr. 12, 2008)

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