Woven Hand
w/ We Are Hex
Saturday, October 10
@ Russian Recording
9pm
$8
All Ages
David Eugene Edwards, former front man of Denver-based alt-country group 16 Horsepower, has been bringing his take on post-apocalyptic folk punk around the world for the better part of a decade. Woven Hand (or Wovenhand) started off as just a solo project but after seven years and several additions and lineup changes, 2008's Ten Stones was the first album written collaboratively by Edwards and the rest of the band. Woven Hand will be playing alongside Indianapolis punk band We Are Hex on October 10 before heading to Eastern Europe to play more dates.
It is difficult to peg Woven Hand into a specific genre, and Wikipedia alone states eight different genres with which Woven Hand is associated. Folk is the easiest genre to pick out since most of the instruments used are string instruments, and many of the songs tell stories and evoke images of the countryside. Known for using antique instruments, including a banjo from the 19th century, Woven Hand's sound is a unique blend of folk and atmospheric ambiance that is content when drenched in melody or enveloped by a double bass drone.
The beauty of Edwards' genius is his ability to create a musical environment equivalent to a Cormac McCarthy novel. He creates a sense of both urgency and despair by riddling his songs with biblical references, allusions to the apocalypse and the return of Jesus Christ. Woven Hand preaches a kind of terrified reverence toward a God only seen in the Old Testament and at the end of time.
Woven Hand at South By Southwest 2009
I was lucky enough to see Woven Hand perform earlier this year at South by Southwest and it was one of the best concerts I can remember. The eerie and frightening aspects of the music are magnified exponentially when played live. Edwards tends to roll his eyeballs back into his head and occasionally looks possessed, losing himself in his music. If you hear him soundcheck it might sound like he is speaking in tongues, but it is actually an Eastern European-sounding gibberish language he made up for a movie role.
Be ready.
Consume these free Woven Hand MP3s:
"Kicking Bird" from 2008's Ten Stones
"Bleary-Eyed Duty" from 2004's Consider the Birds
-David Ray
