Show Review - Kuato & Quiet Parade @ Gus' Pub

Nov 11th - Halifax NS
Gus' Pub

Kuato - http://kuatoband.bandcamp.com/
Quiet Parade - http://acadianembassy.com/2010/11/11/quiet-parade-a-real-house-single/
Ocean Towers - http://www.myspace.com/oceantowers

Review by Dan Nightingale

 

Before this show I thought I knew a lot about Quiet Parade; I knew singer/guitarist Trevor Murphy's other bands and projects, I knew some of the guitarists and the drummer of the band. I knew they had just performed a Marilyn Manson cover set a few weeks back. But I didn't really, really know how it would actually sound. I typically associated Murhpy's work with louder, harder bands, but Quiet Parade stripped this sound down to a songwriting core.

Heartfelt lyrics and acoustic guitar accompaniment were the forefront of music, but a 5 piece backing band complete with lap steel guitar gave the songs a lush, warm, full sound. The vocals and lyrics, as mentioned, were spot on, and it was interesting to see a more folk/rock/pop sound from musicians whom I had previously only seen playing heavier music.

Video:

Ocean Towers took the evening in a 180° turn, towards stonerscape, old school riff rock. Echoing bands like Kyuss, Black Sabbath, or Sleep, Ocean Towers lay down thick slabs of sludgy, doomy rock with a twist – lots of swirling psychedelic synthesizer sweeps came from all around the stage, from the rampant wah-wah attack guitarist Jon Dacey, to the rapid bloops of the Juno synth, to the envelope swells of bassist Chris Fawcett. I was able to hear the vocals a littler better at this show than the last one (key to semi-legible Gus' vocals, use an sm58 and tweak the EQ a little) and the lyrics were classic, 70's style freakout vocals ala Can and Yes.

Video:

Kuato were well prepared as a headliner, ready to embark on tour, complete with their own light show and intense atmosphere. I'm not sure what else to say since their last show, save for the fact that I've had a chance to listen to their EP and it is fantastic – so go check it out. The light show really added a fantastic element to their heavy, spacey, technical music. Check out the pictures and video below for a small taste – it's damn hard to capture a great video for these guys since their songs are so long, not to mention so good that I just want to put down the camera and watch.

 

Video:

There is a much better video that is still on the camera that we can't seem to get off *haha* So hold on to your panties - it will be up here soon!

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see ALL the photos from this show HERE

and all the videos on our YouTube Channel