Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, LeButcherettes @ the EastBrunswick Club, Melbourne(13/12/2011)

Sun 18th Dec, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Le Butcherettes are a Mexican garage-punk three-piece driven by the incredible energy of a front woman named Teri Gender Bender. For a little over 40 minutes, she ran from one side of the stage to the other, screaming, wailing, whispering, choking on microphones and scaling curtains. Refrains were sung in Spanish as was the banter between songs and made as much sense to most of the audience as what it was she and her band were trying to do.

From the number of expressionless faces and lewd comments that escaped the mouths of those around me, it seemed that unfortunately, most of the crowd didn’t “get” Le Butcherettes. The main attraction was bassist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, who attempted to remain inconspicuous further to the back of the stage, positioned between the drums and Bender. At their best moments it seemed that he was just another member, though his presence loomed large and he was never entirely obscured, despite everything that Bender put into the performance.

Their songs are “punk” in every sense of the word: raw, emotional, confronting and entirely subjected to impulse, not cliché. They moved throughout their set with an awkward and staggering momentum, defined by wandering synths, bouncing drums and tight bass lines pulling it all together. Their dynamic was suggestive of an intimate familiarity with ‘80s new wave/post-punk bands such as Siouxsie and the Banshees and Wire. The paroxysmal chaos of sounds and movements conspired to discomfort more people than it seemed to entertain. But for those who got it, Le Butcherettes were spectacularly visceral, immediate, entirely unpredictable and, above all, awesome.

Pink Floyd’s Piper at the Gates of Dawn broke the silence between sets. The East Brunswick Club was packed with die-hard Mars Volta fans eager to see Rodriguez-Lopez in a considerably smaller setting than he’s ever played before in Melbourne – with the exception of his “surprise” gig at Revolver back in 2006. But when the curtains to the stage parted, Rodriguez-Lopez was absent. Drummer Deantoni Parks was positioned front and centre alongside bassist Juan Alderete. The crowd’s excitement was held until Rodriguez-Lopez appeared only a few seconds later, laughing; humoured by the cultish reverence with which his fans receive him. He began by simply thanking everyone for being there, quite unlike the grand Morricone introduction Volta fans are use to.

In contrast to the loose and erratic nature of Le Butcherettes, the first two tracks had a distinct dub flavour to them and were sustained by the ferociously tight rhythm section of Parks and Alderete, who pulled together the jangly labyrinths of guitar Rodriguez-Lopez weaved around them. The sound was perhaps as clear as it can be at the East Brunswick Club and facilitated a set full of the band’s heavier compositions. Parks’ tight and syncopated rhythms routinely saved the compositions from collapse and closed the distance between each player, emphasising that they are, in fact, a band with songs and not just three dudes from the Mars Volta jamming.

Agua Dulce De Pulpo was the only song to feature vocals. Rodriguez-Lopez doesn’t have the best voice and is probably aware of that. He used it not strictly for melody but as a rhythmic tool, breaking his most melodious moments with fast staccato segments, spoken as well as sung. A technique borrowed from friend and collaborator Damo Suzuki.

A series of long psychedelic jams, defined by Rodriguez-Lopez’s affinity with guitar loops and delay, exceeded any standard of musicianship one could realistically expect. As a result however, the compositions were more memorable as a series of virtuosic performances than as actual songs.

Rodriguez-Lopez thanked the crowd one last time and dedicated the last song to “all the dancers in the room”. He asked humbly if we will have him back, the crowd noise affirmed that he is always welcome. The band repeated the long, mounting and cyclical movements of the jams throughout the night, though nearly fell apart towards the end when Rodriguez-Lopez drifted into a maze of effects played in and out of time with Parks and Alderete.

Rodriguez-Lopez’s staggering output over the past few years hinted more towards vanity than quality. Despite the compositions being characterised by a similar atonality, length, depth and distinctly Latin feel to that of the Mars Volta, Rodriguez-Lopez’s band is its own separate thing. This gig clarified that his solo material is more than just second- or third-rate Mars Volta but something that has assumed a sound and presence of its own.