Earth - Adelaide, 14th August 2012
Words: Jo Taylor
Seattle band Earth began back in 1989, before grunge had weaved its way into music history. In their 23 year career, this is their first tour to Australia and founding member Dylan Carlson is the only original member in the ever evolving line-up.
Earth has a unique sound, which is nearly all instrumental. Their early work has been coined drone doom, a form of minimalist drone metal. With seven studio albums, they have evolved into a slightly more jazz/folk influenced sound.
The current three piece lineup, consisting of Carlson on guitar, bassist Karl Blau and Adrienne Davies on drums, was greeted by a black clad Fowlers Live. A decent sized crowd had gathered to see what these intriguing musicians had instore.
The band was greeted with a rousing reception as they stepped on stage. Carlson quietly told the crowd that they could take as many photos as they wanted and were welcome to video the gig, however under no circumstances was flash to be used. This didnʼt seem to bother anyone and soon they were opening with their tune Badger which had a slow beat and droning guitar. It was easy to get lost in.
It was then followed by Old Black from their 2011 album Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1. Bassist Blau, having obviously lost a much loved pet, dedicated this track to all those that had cats.
The crowd gave their biggest reaction yet for the haunting The Bees Made Honey in the Lionʼs Skull from album of the same name released in 2008 which then lead to a medley of songs including Descent to the Zenith and Hellʼs Winter.
However, by this point it, became clear that without the other instruments that usually accompany many of these songs on record, when performed live, they seemed to lack the beauty that those recordings have. They lacked depth and become somewhat repetitive. Time signatures vary slightly but with no vocals on any of the live tracks, there was little to distinguish one song from another. In between tracks, Carlson would always politely thank the crowd, but that was then followed by awkward silence while he tuned his guitar.
Closing the set garnered the strongest interaction, when Carlson introduced Tallahassee. “This song is about a city in Florida. Florida, where all the bad things happen, like murder..” When someone in the crowd yelled “sounds like Adelaide” Carlson quipped “Maybe thatʼs why I feel so at home here?”. With that they launched into Tallahassee. It was during this song that the no flash photography rule imposed at the beginning of the set was broken repeatedly by a crowd member. As the band left the stage, Carlson thanked the crowd for listening before stating “And the fucker with the flash can expect a $200 fine”. However it was when another crowd member suddenly yelled “No flash asshole, he has Epilepsy” and stormed through the crowd that things got strange. No-one seemed too sure who he was, or why he was having the outburst, when clearly Carlson should be the one upset?
Overall, Earth would be best to stick to their recordings, which have a haunting beauty and greater depth than their live performance. By the end of the set, half of the crowd had moved to the bar. Sadly, this gig didnʼt meet expectations.
Earth has a unique sound, which is nearly all instrumental. Their early work has been coined drone doom, a form of minimalist drone metal. With seven studio albums, they have evolved into a slightly more jazz/folk influenced sound.
The current three piece lineup, consisting of Carlson on guitar, bassist Karl Blau and Adrienne Davies on drums, was greeted by a black clad Fowlers Live. A decent sized crowd had gathered to see what these intriguing musicians had instore.
The band was greeted with a rousing reception as they stepped on stage. Carlson quietly told the crowd that they could take as many photos as they wanted and were welcome to video the gig, however under no circumstances was flash to be used. This didnʼt seem to bother anyone and soon they were opening with their tune Badger which had a slow beat and droning guitar. It was easy to get lost in.
It was then followed by Old Black from their 2011 album Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1. Bassist Blau, having obviously lost a much loved pet, dedicated this track to all those that had cats.
The crowd gave their biggest reaction yet for the haunting The Bees Made Honey in the Lionʼs Skull from album of the same name released in 2008 which then lead to a medley of songs including Descent to the Zenith and Hellʼs Winter.
However, by this point it, became clear that without the other instruments that usually accompany many of these songs on record, when performed live, they seemed to lack the beauty that those recordings have. They lacked depth and become somewhat repetitive. Time signatures vary slightly but with no vocals on any of the live tracks, there was little to distinguish one song from another. In between tracks, Carlson would always politely thank the crowd, but that was then followed by awkward silence while he tuned his guitar.
Closing the set garnered the strongest interaction, when Carlson introduced Tallahassee. “This song is about a city in Florida. Florida, where all the bad things happen, like murder..” When someone in the crowd yelled “sounds like Adelaide” Carlson quipped “Maybe thatʼs why I feel so at home here?”. With that they launched into Tallahassee. It was during this song that the no flash photography rule imposed at the beginning of the set was broken repeatedly by a crowd member. As the band left the stage, Carlson thanked the crowd for listening before stating “And the fucker with the flash can expect a $200 fine”. However it was when another crowd member suddenly yelled “No flash asshole, he has Epilepsy” and stormed through the crowd that things got strange. No-one seemed too sure who he was, or why he was having the outburst, when clearly Carlson should be the one upset?
Overall, Earth would be best to stick to their recordings, which have a haunting beauty and greater depth than their live performance. By the end of the set, half of the crowd had moved to the bar. Sadly, this gig didnʼt meet expectations.