Weeping Icon at TV Eye (photo by Kate Hoos)
Weeping Icon was one of the very last bands I saw before everything shut down in 2020 (I covered that night for Brooklyn Vegan), and they just played their first show back in the (semi) after times at TV Eye along with Patti and Couch Slut. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, and continue to say it, I love shows where all the bands are a different sound/vibe/genre (whatever word you want to ascribe really), that I can really sink my teeth into with interesting and complex music rather than just a few bands all doing the same thing. That’s not fun for me as a fan and I’m sure not for anyone else. This show hit all the right spots for me and these three bands all sounded pretty different from each other (though Weeping Icon and Couch Slut certainly have close similarities at times) and I loved each and every moment all of them were on stage.
Patti started out the night and immediately snared me with their slinky groove laden post punk. The wirey, sinuous basslines and frenetic drumming paired with the anxious guitar locked in perfectly together and made for a super fun opening set. It almost seemed like the band was on the brink of chaotically careening off the edge of a cliff at some points, but always managed to pull themselves back just in time. I was unfamiliar with them before the show but I can guarantee I’ll be going back to see them again as soon as I can. I’ve been listening to their 2019 album, Good Big, while editing the pics and prepping this post and it’s just as energetic and feverish as their live show.
Couch Slut can only be described as having a MASSIVE presence. They began with the hum of guitars, slowly building to a wall of feedback that crackled in the air before tearing fully into their incendiary set. Stoner, sludge, noise, punk, doom, heavy metal- there is no one word to fully describe them- they are all of these at the same time and more, a punishing avalanche barreling full force at the listener in song after song. While the guitar onslaught is brutally heavy, the lyrics are just as weighty and incredibly topical; they don’t shy away from difficult subjects to spare the audience any comfort and address themes of substance abuse, child trafficking, violence against women and give all a respectful examination. Vocalist Megan Osztrosits hits a visceral emotional resonance in her performance, reaching a striking level of intensity that is startling and astonishing in its depth.
They have a song on an upcoming comp, Silence Is A Dangerous Sound: A Tribute to Fugazi, which is coming out via Ripcord Records on 10/1 (pre-orders are up now) and will benefit Tribe Animal Sanctuary Scotland. The comp features 43 songs, and to say I am VERY excited about it would be an understatement; I’ve already placed my pre-order. You can hear Couch Slut‘s cover of “Full Disclosure,” now on Stereogum; trust me when I say, you need to go listen to it right now.
Weeping Icon headlined the evening and I was so happy to see them again, I really missed their dark-wave post punk ways. Their set is not so much a band playing some songs on stage for some people in the crowd- though there is nothing wrong with bands who do that- but this is a full on experience, an invitation into something more. Their performances are like a look into a gloomy space filled with dirty, distorted bass, hazy effects, and horror movie-esque instrumental/sample laden intervals in between songs rather than the typical awkward stage banter, keeping the audience rapt and locked in.
The songs can range from extended smokey, stoner doom-esque passages, to pivot over to more driving noise punk with hammering drums, punctuated by pointed lyrics from duel vocalists, guitarist Sara F. and drummer Lani. Thematically they live up to their self descriptor of “sarcasm dopegaze,” with a critical and snarky eye turned to consumption, social media use, and overall critique of the decaying world we find ourselves inhabiting. The band doesn’t have any further dates planned at the moment, but I will be sure to keep my eyes out for that so I can be there when they do announce something.
The world feels uncertain as fuck, to put it in loose terms, because really, there is no other way to describe it. Life continues to somewhat spiral, yet somehow chug along at the same time for a weird, at many times uncomfortable and disconnected existence. But while that may be the case, nights like this and bands like these make me feel at least somewhat tethered to something, something worth holding onto.
Scroll down for pics of the show (photos by Kate Hoos)
PATTI
COUCH SLUT
WEEPING ICON
