A night we have been waiting for since that beautiful album came out. Nicole Dollanganger finally comes to Boston. At first I was slightly disappointed the show would go past 10:00 but surprisingly enough the openers gave a fantastic performance definitely well preparing us for Nicole. Gotta point out how into it the crowd was to with everyone dressing like children and goths. Really adds to the atmosphere.
Kira McSpice
Genre: Ambient/Indie FFO: Marissa Nadler, Emma Ruth Rundle
I had no idea what to expect from this project. Almost complete darkness with only a keyboardist as well as a guitar/vocalist (aka Kira McSpice). First thing she said was "who's ready to get sad!?" as the crowd cheered. Made me think it would be something emo, but instead became this creepy but melodic wave of emotion. Kira's voice projected powerfully with the keyboardist actually playing both ambient samples as well as samples of Kira's voice. I remember my pal Keith (Deathwish Inc.) leaning over to me saying: "I feel like I'm in a horror movie". Couldn't agree more. Couldn't help but feel like I was seeing Chelsea Wolfe again with the way she was singing. Sweet lord did this woman have pipes! Overall performance was incredible and fit well with the bill. Both members performed their hearts out and for only the first act I was very impressed.
SEED
Genre: Experimental Doom Metal/Indie FFO: Elizabeth Colour Wheel, Thou, Screaming Females
The only time I ever saw Seed's name was on a flyer for the Thou/Emma Ruth Rundle collab tour, so seeing them at this show I was curious, as most know how much I L O V E D that collab set when it hit the flywheel in western Mass. I had no prior knowledge to this bands music, but to see them perform as a three piece (Vox, Guitar and Drums), well nothing could have made me more intrigued. I can't say every song was similar however they of course followed the core structure of doom metal. Very heavy for a band with no bass, but on top of that, the range that the vocalist had was impeccable add in with frightening and deafening screams. I felt like I was in the Black Lodge in Twin Peaks and Laura was screaming her head off right in my ear. The band managed to take their doom influence and tie in some stuff comparable to modern emo bands, post rock, and indie. One song they played had blast beats and tremelo picking, it was basically black metal. Seed stated that they have a record recorded but are waiting for the right time to release it. Keep up with this band, you won't regret it.
Nicole Dollanganger
Genre: Gothic Indie/Folk FFO: Emma Ruth Rundle, Marissa Nadler, Chelsea Wolfe (early)
Heart Shaped Bed was pretty high on my list last year and Nicole's guest feature with Full of Hell still terrifies me. I knew the day would come that she plays Boston and that night was this one. The only light that shined down was a velvet pink as Nicole walked out with a garden window statiioned behind her. She wore a dark dress that gave her new blonde hair a little more flair as she smiled at the crowd while they cheered. This night really saw some talented vocalists, but of course Nicole absolutely takes the cake. I'm not to used to such a quiet set but my goodness it only made the performance more powerful. The atmosphere, the garden window, the lighting, all teamed up with her haunting voice hitting the exact note she needs just makes you feel like you are on her album covers. Some songs even had a click track.
One thing I did want to bring up was during one song, I can't remember which, there was a member of the crowd who was having a medical emergency (?). I couldn't see what was going on from where I was. Mid song Nicole asked if she was ok, and while still singing grabbed her a water. After the song, a thumbs up was given implying everything was alright and the friends yelled "Thank you so much! You're an angel!" Nicole also saves lives literally while singing and not missing a beat.
Unfortunately this was another I couldn't stay for the whole set.
So all together this night was a true showcase of vocalists for sure, but I absolutely must give praise to Seed for the instrumentals that are very talented and kept me on my toes for the whole set. More praise as well to Scott who played with Nicole doing both guitar and keyboard and gave an even more spectacular atmosphere to the ballroom landscape. Outstanding performances by all!
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