Amebix at the Great American Music Hall, S.F. 1/25/09

There is something pagan about Amebix.  They are rooted and branched, pulling something incredible from sun and soil, distilling it, and blasting it forth with a fury that is so much more real than anything the majority of bands inspired by them could ever hope to muster.  They are a core of hope wrapped in darkness, like a golden seed embedded in rotting fruit.  They were innovators of a sound that many weren't ready for back in the eighties.  After just two 7"s, a 12" ep, and a couple of lps, they disbanded.

Years passed.  Like many, they became more popular after their demise.

Now, they are back, thanks in part to a dvd retrospective of their work due for release later this year.  Bassist/vocalist Rob and guitarist Stig remain from the old days, with Ray Mayorga (Nausea, Soulfly, Word Made Flesh, etc.) filling
in on drums. 

The Great American was sold out in advance, and the sidewalk in front was awash with forlorn, self-proclaimed "crusties" sans tickets.  (side note:  Amebix have become known as the innovators of the genre now termed "crustcore", which in my opinion is a damn silly name for a musical genre, but what can I do?). 

The venue began filling up as Hellshock took the stage, under the distinctive Austin Osman Spare derived "splathead" logo used by Amebix.  Hellshock played servicable eighties-influenced crustcore, with heavy riffing and shouted vocals, but really added nothing new to the genre.  They didn't stand apart from the vast milieu of similar bands out there.  Annihilation Time were up next, and played fast metal-tinged hardcore (or hardcore-tinged metal?).  I found myself enjoying them, but being impatient for Amebix to play.  I'm sure that was a sentiment shared by many.  Lots of my friends were in attendance  I had driven up with Justin, and we met Wayne out front. Ray was there (read his review here), as was Umlaut (read his review here).  Greg showed up right before Amebix started.  I ran into a few other people as well. 

Amebix hit the stage with Winter, off their second 7", and the crowd changed.  Before, everybody had been relatively subdued.  No more.  A tidal surge of people swept back and forth across the floor, complete with audience members surfing on top.  I don't think I've evers seen as much crowd surfing at a Great American show before.  The Splathead leered down through a veil of stage fog, sometimes illuminated by red light, looking for all the world like a demon gazing down on the roiling mass of humanity below.  I found the whole experience incredibly moving, and find myself in complete agreement with the sentiments expressed by Umlaut in his review.  This was an incredibly empowering, uplifting experience, and definitely a great way to start the year.  They played songs  from both lps, the "No Sanctuary" 12", and the aforementioned Winter from their second 7"  It was strange to think that, here they were in their forties, playing songs that they had written back when they were barely in their twenties (or still in their teens).  The amazing thing was that none of it sounded dated in the least.  If anything, the songs has acquired additional resonance with the passing of time and the accumulation of experience.  I found myself moved almost to tears on several occasions, especially during The Darkest Hour.  After all, this is a band who I've seen fit to quote on my other, non-music blog, and I often find lines from their songs running through my head. 

Towards the end, Jello Biafra appeared on stage to sing backing vocals for Largactyl.  A nice little added bonus.  Amebix did a double encore of Coming Home and Arise!, ending the set on an inspiring note (funny story about that - earlier, Rob had mentioned that he had told the audience at one of the previous shows that they were about to play a song (Coming Home) that many people had requested be played at their funerals - this comment inspired some wag in the audience to shout ARISE!).  

Speaking of earlier.  Greg had set up an interview with Amebix (to be aired later on KALX) over at the Alternative Tentacles offices in Emeryville.  Willow and I went up to take part.  Willow took the photos while the grownups talked.  I'm glad to report that I can add Amebix to the list of musical heroes who also happen to be really great people.  Despite the fact that they were exhausted from their travels (2 shows in L.A. in one day, and a show in Austin), we had a nice little conversation, touching on the then and the now of the band, Asterix (of all things), the idea of having roots and identifying with the land, making swords, and more.  This was icing on the cake of an incredible show (albeit, before the fact).  I wish them a happy remainder of their tour, and hope they'll be back.