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Originally Posted by nuray
i hear new york has the most concerts.
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It's good to be a New Yorker
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Here is my Official Khanate Concert Review that I wrote especially for Peacedogman, but why not copy and paste it?
My 46 year old Jehovah's Witness father and I paid the full 10 bucks a piece to see Khanate perform last Saturday. I brought some cotton balls for my dad, who I was surprised let me stay to see the entire show. We got to the Tonic at about 10 after 11 and got on line As we're waiting on the line Alan Dubin walked right past me and I turned to say something but couldn't get anything out, I don't think he noticed anyway. I'm loving those Old Lady Drivers albums by the way...Once we paid and got in we stood around for about half an hour while Harvey Milk, the band opening for Khanate, tuned up and messed around a bit.
Once the show started, I was really surprised. The members of the band looked basically like a bunch of old stoned out losers, with the exception of the very charismatic guitar/vocalist. They began with a monolithically heavy, sludgy doom song full of down tuned fuzzed out riffs, neanderthallic bludgeoning on the floor toms, and appropriately placed fills. After a few songs like that they played some more mild mid-paced sludge with shouted vocals that reminded me of songs like Celestial (The Tower) by Isis. In a few of the songs like this they shifted between sludge and quieter bass driven moments with whispered vocals. They finished the set with some straight up thrash laden with INSANE solos and some pretty unique use of the snare drums. The last few songs they played also included a heavily distorted keyboard that sound more like a second bassist, and a HUGE gong. The keyboard didn't really seem necessary, but the use of the gong brought an entirely new atmosphere to the songs. It blended nicely with the drummer (the guy playing the keyboard also hit the gong), and it off set the guitar so that the combination made the instruments sound like waves in a monumental flood of fuzz. Sorta like a sludge metal Fantasia :lol: I hope these guys get some attention, they're a good band. It's a shame that they're confined to nothing more than an ocassional local show and no record deal yet.
After about an hour and a half of Harvey Milk, Khanate came on. Between the sets I used the bathroom...I WAS ON THE LINE FOR THE MEN'S ROOM WITH JAMES PLOTKIN. We talked a little bit, cool guy! After that I decided to find a different place to stand (I had been standing right in front of the stage during the Harvey Milk set but I was on the far right), so I stood in front again but in the center, right next to an approximately 3 foot wide speaker . Khanate started with some dark ambient sounds emanating from Plotkin's lap top, which were abnoxiously interrupted by the sound of Stephen's deafening, down tuned guitar. The show really made me appreciate Dubin's vocals. It all seemed a little dramatic, the meditative stance he took before he spewed out the lyrics to "Under Rotting Sky". I expected his vocals to be less tortured than what you'd hear on Khanate's albums, but they were just as sick, if not sicker, live. Another thing that stood out in Khanate's performance was Tim's percussive work. On most Khanate material the drumming seems to play a minor part, with only the occasional fill or simultaneous kick on the bass drum and slap floor or mid tom, which are few and far apart. During Under Rotting Sky (the only other song they played was Skin Coat) especially, when he picked up two mallets for ride cymbal rolls, building anticipation for the pauses in between bass and guitar notes. It was an incredible show, even though Khanate only played for about half the time Harvey Milk did.
After the show I talked to the members of the band for awhile and then left with my dad (who had been at the bar in the back with his ears plugged for most of the show), I had a great time.
