Secret Mommy, We Are Wolves

Went to see We Are Wolves at Richard's on Richards last night. The place was not as full as it was for Controller.Controller but by the time the main act was on stage the energy was pretty good.

One of the opening acts, Secret Mommy, really blew my mind. The act is similar to something I've heard before, Electrofuck playing at 1067 a few years ago. It involved heavy electronic manipulation and powerful stereo equipment so that you could really feel the noise. The thing about this is how the sound seems to creep into the body in a way that no recorded act ever could; the frequencies and noises generated seem to soak into the skull and penetrate the brain in ways music normally doesn't. It was as if Adam Dixon (aka Secret Mommy) was using his laptops and stereo equipment to control me; somehow his brain (although not his mind) was reaching out and directly controlling my brain, though my ears. I became his puppet.

The main act, We Are Wolves, was a very high energy show that really got all my joints a good workout. Their on-stage presence is phenomenal, they have amazing chemistry as a band. Also the manipulations done to the vocals turned the singer's noises into electronic instruments; that was new for me. Screams, hoots and clicks became vortexes of sound. In addition to synth, drums, guitars; this band uses their bodies as instruments and that is a central part of their work. The big heads were great too (and I love the eyes in the back).

One aspect of this show that was interesting for me was going as a teatotaller. At any normal time, I would require a few drinks of booze before I would be willing to cut loose and really just lose it on the dance floor. Not at this show (and also for Controller.Controller); I simply didn't car what other people thought and let the crazy dance flow. That seemed to be something that lots of other people were doing, so the togetherness of being wild and crazy made it easier.

I had a great time.