Music / Review
Review: Oh Sees, Marble Factory – ‘Such a dynamic show is a powerful exorcism for any worries’
Marble Factory welcomed the Los Angeles based garage rock band Oh Sees for a savage night we will all need a proper day – at least, to recover from.
The Vancouver-based art punk collective, Crack Cloud, kicked off the night, and what an interesting concept I was pleased to see live for the first time. The project started with drummer Zach Choy and keyboardist Mohammed Ali Sharar as a productive and curative distraction from the drug spiral. There is indeed something quite fragile about their music and performance, but all straddled by eccentricity and fierceness. Choy manages the impressive tour de force of leading the rest of the band with his drum’s beat and to sing at the same time. It is beautiful to witness the closeness and energy between the members, and they thrivingly prepared the crowd for the rest of the night. Bravo.
The excitement in the venue was palpable as Osees, Oh Sees, Thee Oh Sees – you name them, enter the stage. Forcing your way in the crowd was an expedition in the heart of the Amazonian jungle at the warmest time of the day. The atmosphere was bestial, punchy and incredibly liberating. It was impossible to expect leaving the Factory with dry clothes and all your belongings, but the guy on the other side of the pit might have found your left shoe or your dripping t-shirt.
The sweat comes from nowhere else but the heart though, and such a dynamic show is a powerful exorcism for any worries you had throughout the day, believe me.
Personal first attending a gig with two drummers and I must say, such a set up does shake the hell out of your bones. Dan Rincon and Paul Quattrone are tight in a way I have never seen before, and their synchronization is as close as it can get from perfection, well supported by Tim Hellman’s bass.
The atmosphere was bestial, punchy and incredibly liberating. Credit: Alice Boeglin
Lead vocalist and guitarist John Dwyer is not just a breathtaking musician, he’s also quite the entertainer, from the way he holds his guitar way up against his chest to his fierce singing uniting the crowd in a burst of rage. Last but not least, discreet keyboardist Tomas Dolas, well hidden behind the two mesmerizing and imposing drums, polishes and perfects the Oh Sees’ sound as we uniquely characterize it, and all together offered a show of an unprecedented intensity.
They give a lot, and you not only share the sweat with Oh Sees, you also feel a powerful communion, a graceful harmony among the chaos. Thanks for that.
Main photo: Alice Boeglin
Read more: Wavelength Surf Film Festival comes inland to Bristol
Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast:
Our newsletters emailed directly to you
