Among a dominating high pressure dome of hot air coupled with oppressive 1st Midwest humidity, restless Cincinnati natives Black Planet and Mardou teamed-up in support of Madrid's (Spain) Accidente on a stop on their US (United States) Tour at The Comet in beautiful Lil' Gatlinburg (Northside), a neighborhood of Cincinnati (Ohio).
BLACK PLANET started the steamy night off by launching into a loud, abrasive blast of hardcore akin to a mix of a DC Hardcore sound like you would hear from Void or Red C as on Dischord Records Flex Your Head and the classic Punk & Disorderly style English Spikes and Studs hardcore punk like Vice Squad and Blitz. I found a nice air-condition vent blasting cool air to watch Black Planets set from and itch. Yeah, itch! Im not sure if it was the fact that I mowed the front yard earlier and every time I mow the front yard (Fairfield, Ohio) I contract poison ivy on the left side of my body or if Black Planets sound is just yhat powerful! I stood there and clapped when I thought songs were over, and scratched my arm and stomach vigorously lije a madman! Black Planet no time in-between songs to butter-up the crowd with niceties, feedback and other discordance serves as the music in-between the music.
I shared first-hand accounts of Sonic and Visual Artist Tim Schwallie and his beer-missile aiming skills as ACCIDENTE set up their gear. Suddenly bursting into laughter, Tim; who despite his self-admission of not knowing Spanish laughed aloud at the inside-jokes Accidente shared with each other as bands tend to do before playing. Once again, Tim came to the rescue in defining Accidentes set by defining their sound as "straight-forward punk rock" reminding me personally of a mix between melodic fem-fronted vocals akin to that of Naked Aggression or The Gits with great sounding dual guitars reminding me sonically of Modern Pets and/or La Face. Being on tour and needing it a whole lot more than myself and not having enough money to support the band by buying a record, I showed partial gratitude by giving them the last dollar-bill I had in my pocket.
Mardou rounded out the Monday night entertainment with a rousing set of midwestern nilistic post-punk. If they were a bit older and nosier you could swear they were the second or perhaps 3rd generation of Pere Ubu progeny coming at ya. With a full-length offering just a few months out, the Mardou playing now represents a different Mardou than most previously witnessed–even myself. This Mardou is full of it. Angst. Bitterness. Awkward, nervous energy. Assuredness. Optimism. Rage. Imagine [early] New Order with the repetitiveness of Can of they sounded more like Iceage. Dylan, Mardou founder told me after their set "I thought for a moment of getting my hunting knife out..." To which I responded "Well, thats what you get for thinking! Next time do yourself a favor and DONT THINK–just fucking do it!"
Mardou played a set that was on the same level in delivery as that of recent By-Products of America offerings. I was vocal with each member of Mardou concerning this fact and even added that if they had perhaps played two more songs, Mardou (collectively) could have played a comparative, passionate set on-par with BPA themselves. None-the-less, I remained verily impressed and if a gun was placed to my head Id feel compelled to confess that I'm glad they left me wanting more.
It's nice to want things.
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WATCH Mardou pre-form at The Comet from August , 2016 http://youtu.be/ZRKpMNpcrig
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NOT SO MUNDANE (A You Tube Playlist)
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzxrMeAN06xU04N_O2OUrsu66J2e-fByO
Black Planet on Bandcamp
https://blackplanett.bandcamp.com
Accidente on Bandcamp
https://accidente.bandcamp.com
Mardou bandcamp
https://mardouband.bandcamp.com/releases
This Fall (2016) Mardou will release their debut LP.
