Last Friday at the Tavern, the National Conference on Organized Resistance held a concert/rally to kick off this year's festivities. Each year, NCOR brings together a bevy of politically aware AU students as well as a number of community activists who are looking to change the world for the better. This night, though, it was all about fun as six musical acts performed at the Tavern.
The first band, Junius, opened the show with their aggressive progressive rock. The loud driving sound of the band set the tone for the night and gave the audience a taste of what was to come. The second act was the lead singer of the band Des Ark, a female singer-songwriter from North Carolina named Aimee Argote. She performed songs that dealt with love, relationships and the proverbial drugged-up sex romp. Her style seemed to be along the lines of Bright Eyes, with a throwback to old female folk heroes such as Joan Baez or Joni Mitchell.
The next four acts were drastic departures from Aimee Argote, as they proved to be a lot more intense and fist pumping than the first two bands. The next act was local favorite Mass Movement of the Moth. This band has been playing shows in D.C. and the east cost for over a year now and has been garnering quite a following thanks to their unique mix of post-hardcore and spacey keyboard riffs. There is really no way of describing the sound of the band. The only way to get the full impact of the sound is to witness their live show, which is among the best out of the D.C bands. Maybe the best way to describe the sound would be, as lead singer Christian said, "loud."
The next band was Gospel, which surprised many in the audience as they played two long, thrashy and psychedelic songs that many times bordered on insanity. Gospel is a quartet that plays an extremely original brand of music that has elements of thrash, prog-rock, hardcore and psychedelica. Their set was 30 minutes long and they played only two songs - one that was five minutes long and another that was extremely long but infectious, leaving everyone in a haze. From singer/guitarist Adam Dooling wailing on his 12-string guitar to Jon Pastir's intricate keyboard riffs, the band showcased a sound that can only be described as "Yes gone to hell." The best part of their act had to be drummer Vincent Roseboom, whose technical and aggressive drumming was reminiscent of Neil Pert, only played to a harder and sicker beat.
The next band was Requiem, the legendary political thrash outfit. The band played a fast and raucous set that got the circle pit started again. Requiem is well known for their old-school style of thrash and their outspoken political views, evident in their set as they described stories of their imprisoned friends as well as "the prisons" we all have to face, whether it be "physical prisons, school or gender stereotypes." The set let a lot of the aggression out in the audience and, as the bassist for Requiem stated, it was all about being free. "I can get arrested tonight after this and be put in prison, but knowing that I played for all of you guys and that I influenced something - then I'm truly free."
The set culminated in a drum rally from the NCOR drum squad as they played along with the band and took the reigns of the set once Requiem was finished. The drum squad played dancy, almost tribe-like beats that got the crowd dancing and the conga lines circling.
Circle Takes the Square, the night's headliner, took the stage, and with one yell of "Rejoice," the crowd began screaming along to "Same Shade as Concrete" with singers Drew Speziale and Kathy Coppola. The band finished the set with "Interview at the Ruins," and by this time many in the audience had their voices shot from screaming along with the bands the whole time. Still, the crowd sang along to every word until Circle Takes the Square finished and walked offstage. While there was no encore, this did not dampen the spirit of the crowd, as the show served its purpose of kicking off the festivities and pumping up the kids for the rest of the weekend's activities.
