Perfect Pussy's sound is as abrasive as their name.
Their punk set at the Bishop Tuesday night was electrifying. The
Syracuse rockers attempted to shake the walls down as they cranked up
their amps to excruciating loudness. I wore earplugs for the whole
show, and my ears still rang afterward.
Bassist Greg Ambler thrashed around the stage as he assaulted the
strings of his instrument. Drummer Garrett Koloski pounded the cymbals
like he was smashing windows in. Frontwoman Meredith Graves gyrated in
front of her band mates as she screamed her heartfelt-but-venomous
lyrics through a distorting amplifier. Shaun Sutkus, who mans the
synths, blazed an obliterating path through the band's music with even
more noise.
Rowdy moshers in the front of the crowd made beer-holders near them
anxious. One kid, after spending one song nonchalantly tapping his
toes, ran headfirst into the mosh pit and barreled into another
concertgoer. A kid in tight black jeans, black combat boots and a
sleeveless white t-shirt jumped off of the stage and ricocheted into
the perilous pit. Necks were whiplashed, toes were trampled and
"rock-on" fists were raised. It was a truly ecstatic environment.
Until about 20 minutes in to the band's set, at which point they
abruptly stopped playing.
"You should have left after the good bands played," Graves, referring
to openers Raw McCartney and Bastard Club, said with tongue in cheek.
"Thanks for staying," she added.
Perfect Pussy were the headliners of the show, and went last in the
lineup, as is customary. Pitchfork fell in love with the group's debut
demo cassette, "I have lost all desire for feeling," and with
notoriety from them, Graves and her band had to assume people would
start seeking them out.
Raw McCartney and Bastard Club both played for about 45 minutes. Raw
McCartney leaned more toward noise rock while Bastard Club's sound was
decidedly more post-hardcore. But while both groups had good,
energetic sets, the people at the Bishop paid eight dollars to see the
headliner.
So it's disappointing that Perfect Pussy played for such a short
time. In their defense, they've only released five songs to date. But
they're readying a new album for release in March and surely have
those songs in their arsenal. Plus, in the world of punk, there's
about a million hip covers to cook up.
I haven't seen many punk shows beyond watching Wire's set at
Pitchfork Music Festival over the summer. So I admit I'm not hugely
familiar with the music's culture, and I don't know if it's common
practice for punk bands to quit after 20 minutes. If so, it's a stupid
common practice.
The band was on a roll up until they stopped, and the audience was
having a great time. It was a lose-lose situation for them to cut
their set short, and more than a little insulting for all the broke
college students who shelled out eight bucks to see them.
On the plus side, it's the earliest I've ever gotten to bed after a
show at the Bishop.
Post by Jacob Klopfenstein
