With the support of opening acts Enon and Scout Nibblett, the Black Heart Procession doused the energetic High-Noon Saloon last Saturday with an ambitious set of dark and chaotic songs.
Drumming up the initial energy, experimental folkstress Scout Niblett pounded away on a trap-set not long after the 10 p.m. show’s start. Scout’s avant-garde, solo drumming and guitar stylings gave way to a more traditional sound as her set progressed. Though an opening act, Scout was not about to be forgotten. She yelped and screamed at the exact opposite moment she appeared to be settling into a quiet mood. As the end of her set neared, the English-born Scout proceeded to become more and more accessible. By the end of nearly one hour of music, Scout had infused the crowd with a sizable amount of energy.
During Scout’s set a constant stream of shifting audience members maintained a steady flow of alcohol to enliven the experience. The buzz of the crowd’s intoxication was not nearly as loud as the second act, Enon.
Featuring former members of Brainiac and Blonde Redhead, Enon blasted their set off with a twitchy, high volume romp through the band’s more contemporary rhythm playlist. Lead guitarist John Schemersal jerked his body around the stage while still managing to hammer out the right notes. The screeching guitar and powerful bass overpowered the vocals, which weren’t intelligible until the noise died down between songs. Roughly halfway through their set, Enon began a transition into a more pop/electronic rock feel. Through the use of looped noises and synth keyboard chords, Enon kept the energy level on high. Eventually, Schemersal took the bass and former Blonde Redhead, Toko Yasuda sang to the pop lovers’ delight.
With the crowd now reeling on the brutal performance of Scout Niblett and the electro-rock punch of Enon, it was time for the Black Heart Procession. With the band, came a different musical feel: less rock, more mellow roll.
BHP has, in the more recent past, delved into a tropical sensibility, culminating with the release of Amore de Tropico. Therefore, a more upbeat rhythm invaded most of the songs during the live set. The danceability of the tropical rhythm was only to be found musically when BHP performed “Tropics of Love.” The song is arguably the bands fastest to date.
Throughout the night the Procession (complete with a full scale grand piano keyboard, guitar, synth organ and drums) stayed consistent with its theme of moody and melancholy tunes. Numbers like “Release My Heart” and “Square” were crowd pleasers. This was mostly due to the harder edge possible only with the addition of live drums.
Despite a constant argument with his guitar’s tuning, lead singer Pall Jenkins let loose slower, thought-out sounds. And he left nothing to the imagination as to his vocal abilities. A strange sound to the new listener, Jenkins’s full-throated wails might sound strained. But the aching tone of his song reflected well the lines of disappointment and abandonment.
A much more consistent and equalized mix of sound helped the Black Heart Procession immensely. The rumbling piano and crisp guitar were only surpassed by the addition of Jenkins’s saw-harp during the height of the chaos and calamity of the set.
The saw-harp is nearly the same construction as a typical hardware store saw. Accompanied by the atmospheric sounds of harsh winds, Jenkins bowed the saw-harp that he clutched between his knees. Bending the metal blade over his leg, the trilling noise emanating from the instrument became almost unnatural. In an entirely instrumental number, played shortly after the onset of the saw-harp, the band’s sound aligned itself with unearthly noises. The piano thundered, the organ moaned and the cymbals crashed.
The saw-harp added a new dimension to the live experience and provided a near living soundtrack quality for the audience.
By the time Jenkins returned to his guitar, the show was well into the a.m. Restless show-goers were weary from hours of standing and the crowd began to dissipate slightly.
So unfortunately, more than a few people missed a wonderful rendition of “A Light So Dim:” the only song requested by a shouting barfly.
There was no encore, the crowd moved in a tired fashion to the door. The merchandise tables saw little action due to the fact that most people just wanted to get home. Ten o’clock was a poor time to start such an ambitious concert. With the artists playing sets chock full of tunes, the entire show was almost too exhausting to take in its entirety.
Thankfully, the BHP stuck with the slower, more traditional songs of their albums One, Two and Three. If they had rocked any more than they did, the audience might not have had anything left.