The soothing feeling of cleaning and dressing a fresh wound. That's what watching Russian Circles Tuesday night at the Doug Fir concert felt like. After the heavy sonic (and visual) assault of both openers, Young Widows and Daughters, Russian Circles began the healing process, though every now and then they were sure to remind us that torn flesh remained just under the surface.
The night's first act, Young Widows (from Louisville, KY), primed the evening with their power trio lineup of drums, bass, guitar. Though not quite yet breaking the skin, these three pummeled their way through the set. Swapping vocals, Nick Thieneman (bass) and Evan Patterson (guitar) fit well together, though the drumming was somewhat inadequate to properly carry the music. The resulting sound remained primal, almost stunted, throughout.
Though I didn't yet know it, when Daughters (from Providence, RI) took the stage, they were about to push me from a fast-moving vehicle, making sure that my skin connected roughly with the asphalt. The five-piece (drums, two guitars, bass and vocals) utilized tight, precise wire-brush-on-weasels guitar work over drool-inducing drums that never ceased to impress. Oscillating wildly over, under and through all this were vocalist Alexis Marshall's verbal outbursts. More attention-grabbing than his vocals, however, were his Ian Curtis meets Iggy Pop stage antics. Sweaty and dripping with the water he kept spitting all over himself, Marshall's own performance culminated in the removal of all his clothes except for an extremely small pair of shorts - fun for everyone.
From the first few notes that Russian Circles (from Chicago, IL) played, it was clear that something different was going to happen. Quiet guitar notes soothed the room's collective eardrum, though this wouldn't last long. Throughout the trio's set, they often utilized dynamics for a full-spectrum experience - something the two openers clung to just one end of. Each with an army of pedals, Brian Cook (bass) and Mike Sullivan (guitar) went for maximum effect with minimal fuss with each song seemed to want to outdo the last. The drumming (Dave Turncrantz) kept everything moving along, staying within the dynamic muscle the group showed, but lacked creativity - which flowed endlessly from the rest of the stage.
