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Fresh from Moogfest, Wolf Eyes, Pharmakon and more take over Strange Matter tonight

Brad Kutner | May 22, 2017

Topics: metal, Moogfest 2017, noise music, Pharmakon, strange matter, Wolf Eyes

I spent the weekend in Durham, NC, at a festival devoted to the synthesizer and some of the best acts from the show are stopping in RVA tonight. It’s also gonna help if you like terrifying noise music.

I’m gonna run down Moogfest in the next week or so (as I am still recovering) but one of the stand out acts, NYC’s Pharamakon (top image), should 100 percent be on your list of shows to see this year and tonight is your chance.

At the ripe age of 27, Margaret Chardiet (AKA Pharmakon) has created a fascinating and horrifying soundscape that has garnered praise from publications large and small. While it’s not something I find myself causally listening to, her latest record, Contact, was released a few months back and finds connections to some of the deepest, darkest industrial sounds imaginable.

This noisy mess of rage and terror was hard for me to imagine live; I figured she’d be latched to a series of pedals and synths occasionally screaming into a mic. Sure enough, I wasn’t far off base, but the production and clarity of sound helped cultivate a truly unique expereince and she also found time to mill about the crowd, check out a short clip from her Moogfest show below:

#pharmakon live at #moogfest2017

A post shared by Brad Kutner (@patioweather_rva) on May 21, 2017 at 7:07am PDT

Up next on the bill is a band that needs no introduction for long-time fans of noise or experimental music: Wolf Eyes (image below), the seminal Detroit-based project featuring Nate Young, John Olson, and Jim Baljo, has been rattling spines and ear drums since the mid-90s. Their sound has changed, but the mission seems to have stayed the same – horrify and confuse.

And their live shows similarly run the gambit of high energy off-tune beats and fuzz to more mellow tributes to noise-scapes as an art form. If and when you want to talk about noise music, being abel to say your “saw Wolf Eyes once” is certainly a notch in your belt.

They’ve been to RVA in the past year or so, and that show was solid, though a bit too mellow for my tastes. Meanwhile, their Moogfest show this weekend offered a more upbeat (?) rendition of their sound. Check out a short, noisy clip below:

#wolfeyes live at #moogfest2017

A post shared by Brad Kutner (@patioweather_rva) on May 21, 2017 at 6:54am PDT

Other acts on the bill include Providence, RI, Container, and RVA’s own Coteries, both of whom I’ve caught before and have enjoyed – but all of this requires and ear for the terrifying so if you’re up to start your week on a rough, atonal note, snag tickets here and head to Smatter tonight.

Photos via Marcus Roberts

Show Review: Extragavanza 2015 at Smatter was dark and brutal with local acts shining though

Brad Kutner | November 10, 2015

Topics: Author & Punisher, Daggering, Extragavanza 2015, Mutwawa, RVA noise music, strange matter, Wolf Eyes

The surviving fetus of Fall Line Fest, AKA Extragavanza 2015 (we’re still not 100% on how that’s pronounced) happened last weekend and it showed RVA can handle a multi-venue show despite limited time
[Read more…] about Show Review: Extragavanza 2015 at Smatter was dark and brutal with local acts shining though

Extragavanza Spotlight: Discussing Past & Future With Noise Giants Wolf Eyes

Brad Kutner | November 6, 2015

Topics: band interviews, strange matter, The Extragavanza, Wolf Eyes

The Extragavanza is doing its best to fill the gaping hole left by Fall Line Fest and tonight, we’ll see just how we
[Read more…] about Extragavanza Spotlight: Discussing Past & Future With Noise Giants Wolf Eyes

RVA Shows You Must See This Week: 11/4-11/10

Marilyn Drew Necci | November 4, 2015

Topics: Akka, Antiphons, Atta Girl, Author & Punisher, Avers, Bandito's, Bare Thoughts, Bastard Sapling, Black Cobra, Capital Ale House, Charles Owens Trio, Close Talker, Colin Thibodeauxx, Daggering, Diiv, en su boca, Fever The Ghost, gallery 5, Imaginary Sons, Jeffrey Lewis & Los Bolts, Kommunion, Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires, Magnus Lush, Manatree, Manzara, Meth Dad, Mutwawa, No Joy, Nosebleed, Shmu, shows you must see, Soda Bomb, strange matter, Sunflower Bean, Teen Death, The Broadberry, The Extravaganza, The Snowy Owls, The Trillions, The Winter Passing, Ugly, Wolf Eyes, Yob, Young Scum, Youth In Bloom

FEATURE SHOW
Friday, November 6, 5 PM – 2 AM
The Extragavanza! – $30 (order tickets HERE)
5 PM @ The Broadberry: DIIV, Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires, No Joy, Sunflower Bean, Avers, Jeffrey Lewis & Los Bolts, The Trillions, Manzara – $20
10 PM @ Strange Matter: Wolf Eyes, Author & Punisher, Mutwawa, Daggering – $12
10 PM @ En Su Boca: The Snowy Owls, Soda Bomb, Manatree – Free to ticketholders

There’s a brand new all-day music throwdown coming to RVA this weekend, and do you know how many times I had to look at the name before I realized it wasn’t called “the extravaganza” (nope, it’s not–look at it again)?
[Read more…] about RVA Shows You Must See This Week: 11/4-11/10

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