St. Louis Noise Fest Highlights

photo courtesy of Blake Edwards

I had a great time playing at St. Louis Noise Fest on Friday. I wish I could have stayed the whole time. I was fortunate enough to be offered a ride from Neil Jendon, who did a stellar set with a drum machine, a modular synthesizer, and some other things I didn't grasp. PusDrainer blasted people with beat driven noise and vocals as I watched from outside with my nose pressed against the window because I didn't get back in in time before it started, Vertonen brought on a wide palette of sounds including a record player, a radio, and some Beyonce loop at the end, Brain Transplant was without a core member but executed some nice gloomy electronics with saxophone burps and whistles on top.

People were very receptive to my set, alarmingly so. Unfortunately I missed a video projection by Ghost Ice while I was breaking down, but things kicked right back into gear when Diaphragmatic erupted with heavy distortion from scrap metal, an electric drill, some chains, and a big steel bowl full of nails. My excitement got the best of me and with a nod of approval, I helped finish off his set with my belt sander.

At present time I am anxiously watching the Bullart. page for more uploads of the live sets throughout the span of the weekend. I have the utmost thanks and respect for Peter J Woods, the man who spearheaded most of the booking, and the people of LEMP who put it on.

After the show I had a long and heartening conversation with Mark, the owner of LEMP, and then went to a bar with an incredibly nice fella named Ben to see one of the members of Brain Transplant (and also Skarekrau Radio) play Sax in a jazz ensemble. By the time I came back to the venue, members of Socially Retarded, Lechuguillas, and GET PREGNANT were in the back yard lighting a fire and keeping me riled up laughing about nothing all night.

Many thanks to the people of St. Louis who attended and made it a refreshing and jubilant experience.