Concert Review - All Them Witches with King Buffalo and King Dead

The Sherman Theater, Living Room

Stroudsburg, PA

August 23, 2014

       I hadn't taken an over-night road trip for a show in a long time. But when I found out that All Them Witches and King Buffalo would be making a stop in Stroudsburg (about a four hour trip from Pittsburgh), I rallied some troops and we took to the weary path that these musicians are all too familiar with.  Being one of the lucky cats to get a King Buffalo tee with a promo earlier this year, I brandished it with pride, and began strolling Main Street Stroudsburg in search of our venue and a good dive bar.  Our destination was the Sherman Theater’sLiving Room.  With a quiet appearance, more common for art galleries and open mic poet nights, we were psyched to experience All Them Witches and King Buffalo in a tight fitting and intimate setting.  As we approached the Living Room we were waved down by King Buffalo’s drummer Scott, who noticed my shirt.  After the friendly introduction, we offered to give the guys a hand loading, but we were too late.  We chilled for a while, waiting for The Witches to arrive, and carried on with Scott anticipating the music to come.  Scott was a stand up dude with a killer Van Halen tee (thanks for letting us talk your ear off dude).  All Them Witches pulled up and we got them loaded into The Living Room and after friendly hello’s I was in much need of a drink.  Luckily there was a nice little joint called Kay’s Tavern with a pool table and old timers playing an ancient table top bowling game.  My buddies and I ordered up a round of Yuenglings and they proceeded to kick my butt at pool.        

This is where I found out there was another opening band, King Dead a bass heavy trio Heavy Planet covered earlier this year (see the exclusive here).  Some of the other musicians arrived at Kay’s and somehow All Them Witches lead man and bassist, who goes by the name Parks, and I ended up talking world music and the mystery that is Tuvan throat singing.  Losing more time than we realized King Dead had already hit the stage with a western inspired atmospheric doom sound.  I had made it back for their monstrous closer.  Noticing that the trio was all lows, two basses and a thunderous set of drums, I wasn't prepared for the rattling my rib cage experienced.  With a final crash of percussion King Dead laid waste to what was left of a battered crowd and tore down making way for the mighty King Buffalo.

                Oozing a very different vibe, King Buffalo courted the audience with a more reflective sort of groove leaving the crowd in a head nodding daze.  Front man Sean is of tremendous stature, proclaiming their message above the rhythmic crunch being laid down by Scott and Ben (bass) during their standout performance of Providence Eye.  Scott’s tenacity with his kit left my buddy, Paulrus, and I impressed at the trio, who set a solid foundation for All Them Witches to take the stage and finish the night big.  

                The $3.00 Sam Adam’s draughts kept the set up time occupied and the conversations soaring.  Before we realized it All Them Witches were rolling, checking their sound waves.  Sound check seamlessly moved into the set with Lightning At The Door’s album opening one-two punch Funeral For a Great Drunken Bird and When God Comes Back.  My initial reaction, of course after the rocking that surged through my body, was that these four have a spectacular chemistry together, truly something every music lover wishes to experience at a live show.  The Witches set ran through the majority of Lightning and just as I was awestruck at Rob’s percussion antics during my first listening of the album (you can check out my opinion here),  I was even more so impressed with his live performance.  The dude has some serious mo-jo that naturally makes the grooves groovier.  The four-some closed with emotion-builder Charles William and I would say that no group of musicians could have chosen a better way to end the evening.  Each instrument, paired with Parks genuine vocals, built an immense wave of desire of liberation and The Witches delivered just that.  When an evening of live music leaves you forgetting all of your other life concerns you know the music did exactly what it needed to do and that should leave the musicians themselves feeling resolute in their creation.  As much as this music and these musicians meant to me upon the first listen, they now mean even more.  If you’re interested in seeing more of the bands check the links below. If you’re a Pittsburgh native, you won’t want to miss King Buffalo, who will be playing at The Shop tonight (August 27th).  They will also be playing with Heavy Planet favorite The Midnight Ghost Train at Bar Matchless in Brooklyn, NY for an event by The Electric Beard of Doom. 

King Dead

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King Buffalo

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All Them Witches

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Parks (All Them Witches), Scott (King Buffalo), & Paulrus

Zac's "Double Dose": All Them Witches / Pelican

All Them Witches: Lightning At The Door 

 The tail end of last year delivered an immense amount of heavy music that was quite simply impossible to get through by year end. All Them Witches debut release Our Mother Electricity was one of those albums I just didn't get to in time. The important thing is I eventually did get to it and was lucky enough to share it with you all as a Double Dose post. The southern soaked soul of this dynamic, psyche-delta, doom rock quartet left a lasting impression with me and I was curious to see what these fellas would come up with next. Little did I know they would deliver a sophomore follow up in a years time. With Our Mother Electricity still fresh in my mind, still fresh in my speakers I promptly answered the door when I heard Lightning... knocking. The album begins with a spacey piece of poetry called Funeral For A Great Drunken Bird and some excellent percussion. If Mr. Staebler's drumming genius did not stand out to you throughout Our Mother Electricity, I'd say you didn't listen nearly close enough. His subtle percussion brilliance within the four and a half minutes of Funeral For A Great Drunken Bird should open your eyes and give you some insight to what is approaching. But, how does a musician follow up a climactic builder like Funeral...? Well, one way and one way only. With a dank and stanky track that swings with a power swagger and is entitled something like this... "When God Comes Back". Future rockers, take note. Infectious riffing backed up by some of the grooviest steel trash can banging percussion take front stage. Hear it once and you will undoubtedly hit repeat. The boys hit the dirt roads, meandering with Lightning between some more bluesy based melancholy jams to experimental Indian and Middle Eastern sounds. All Them Witches never fully depart from the Sabbath inspired doom that we all know and love, bringing back just enough to slam the door in your face and rattle your spine. For example, see Swallowed By The Sea. With the magnitude of Lightning's closer The Mountain I realized that this band means a lot more to me now than they initially did a year ago. It such a relief to know that real musicians and artists are out there, they are creating, and we here at Heavy Planet are elated to bring their creation to you. Right on. Right on.

 

Members: 

Allan Van Cleave - Keys // Violin 

Ben McLeod - Guitar 

Michael Parks Jr - Vocals // Bass // Acoustic Guitar 

Robby Staebler - Drums

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Pelican: Forever Becoming 

After knocking out a quick write up for All Them Witches' rollickin' Lightning At The Door, what is a man to listen to... I mean it has been a long time since I've had the time to just sit, listen, reflect, and repeat... it's been a long time since I've written anything for the 'Planet. Please forgive that. I certainly haven't forgotten about this place. So as I sit alone peering out the window into a icy and white winter-land over the smell of a warm tobacco pipe and a glass of Tulamore Dew I hit play on Forever Becoming the latest from Chicago's finest instru-metal'ers. Who knew what to expect from Pelican this year with long time friend and band member Laurent Schroeder-Lebec no longer part of the whole. Would there be new sound, a lighter, airier style of tunes, maybe vocals? I mean we did find some on the 2009 release What We All Come To Need. Forever Becoming begins with some isolated, very distant sounding drumming that steadily builds with the squeals of electric instruments and an X-Files theme sounding set of keys. This is Terminal. A brief introduction, but critical to the foundation of track two Deny The Absolute. Within moments Deny The Absolute solidifies Pelican as THE definitive instrumental musicians of this generation. Noticeable is the reflection of their past and pivotal post metal releases, music that created a genre all its own. Deny The Absolute has the gusto to entertain even the most unlikely listeners. The Tundra and Immutable Dusk bring back memories of their mammoth 2005 release The Frost in our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw. These tracks emit monstrously heavy wavelengths of sound that create an avalanche between the ear drums and mind. The album fully ascends with Perpetual Dawn, a culmination of everything that is Pelican, a distant reverberation of electric buzz transforms into mind tingling riffing within the first thirty seconds. The nine and a half minute micro-symphony follows a formula that only Trevor and the crew know, twisting through the most tangled of sonic forests and quiet caverns. The tracks final five minutes dynamically shift in ways that aren't describable, you just have to experience it. In the end that is what every Pelican album is... not so much music or notes strung together but a life experience. Thanks guys for staying true.

 

Members: 

Bryan Herweg 

Dallas Thomas 

Larry Herweg 

Trevor Shelley de Brauw

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