Live music review: Japan’s Boris destroyed Empire Garage, Megafauna played Chess Club after show
Guitar-heavy noise rockers, Boris visited Empire Garage August 25 for a stop on their Heavy Rock Breakfast tour with support from Philadelphia’s Nothing. Needless to say, it was an evening of loudness that fans felt in their organs at various points during the intense, 15-song set headliners Boris delivered. The quaking noise was accompanied by strobe lights, stage smoke, shredding guitar, vicious drums and a bass so loud we were worried they might hit the brown note. The show brought to mind other loud acts The Cosmic Clash has covered like My Bloody Valentine, A Place to Bury Strangers and Mogwai. Yeah… it was that loud. With ear plugs.
Boris featured tracks from 2020 self-released record, NO and its companion, W (Sacred Bones Records) early in the set, leaving more familiar material to the second half of the performance. The pair of works are certainly Boris’ most extreme, featuring lead vocalist, Atsuo screaming some of the verses in a style closer to punk music than the more nuanced post-industrial vocal style they’re known for.
From the band:: “NO and W weave together to form NOW, a duo of releases that respond to one another. In following their hardest album with this sensuous thundering masterpiece they are creating a continuous circle of harshness and healing, one that seems more relevant now than ever and shows the band operating at an apex of their musical career.”
The new material had the effect of slotting in nicely with their earlier compositions which the band presented later in the performance.
The LEVITATION veterans delighted the mostly-male fans who wore the requisite black garb, rendering the audience to looking like an extension of production crew at times. Boris’ inclusion of tracks, “Pink” and “Farewell” played well with an Austin crowd that saw those same favorites performed at Mohawk when the band toured the Pink album in 2016.
Following the show, we hustled across the street to Chess Club to check out Megafauna’s set on the tiny new club’s stage nestled in the corner of the room on Red River and 7th in the heart of the Red River Cultural District. Big picture windows behind the band showed folks walking around downtown, looking for action. If they ended up wandering into Chess Club, they got to see the most delicious, proggy set by the foursome led by Dani Neff.
Neff’s guitar work is legendary among musicians and music industry folks in Austin but she should be wowing fans around the globe with her ability to rip off searing solos while wailing on the mic like a seasoned pro. Her band’s energy is infectious, whether it’s Zack Humphrey’s insane drumming, Will Krause bouncing around with his bass or multi-instrumentalist, Winston Barrett throwing in a mind-blowing solo, there’s a lot to like about Megafauna.
The group’s 2019 record, Ghost Coast is a Cosmic Clash staff favorite. Neff let us know the band played some new material in anticipation of getting back into the studio again. Naturally, we’re stoked to hear the band has new music coming. If it’s anything like their last record, music fans are in for a sonic treat soon. These artists are musicians’ musicians and that says everything you need to know about the talent they possess.
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