I went to see the Architects, DeathSpells and the Scandals at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn this past Tuesday, and it was awesome.
The Scandals are from Bayonne, New Jersey, and they play Jersey punk at breakneck speed.
DeathSpells is a new venture from Frank Iero (My Chemical Romance) and James Dewees (Reggie and the Full Effect, The Get Up Kids) and is more pop-industrial than punk.
And by “pop-industrial” I mean it’s weird experimental noise you can dance to – well, stomp-sway and headbang and bounce a little – which the crowd and I did, enthusiastically.
Sadly Frank Iero’s voice got a little bit lost in the mix; this may have been because I was right up on the rail and too close to a speaker. But their songs worked great as instrumental pieces, too, so that was okay.
The Architects are at a transitional period, musically; up until now they’ve played thrashy punk mostly – to quote Brandon Phillips – “about drugs and law enforcement.” Their most recent record goes in a little bit of a different direction – I’ve already written about how much I like it – and has more of a punkabilly vibe, which in practice means they now sing some songs about girls.
They still play the old songs like bootleggers outrunning the law: fast, but nimble and focused. But I’m pleased to report the new songs were seamlessly integrated into their set. And that their set is still a glorious, exhilarating torrent of punk rock.
Also, yes, that is Frank Iero on bass and possibly specifically on Mikey Way’s sparkly bass, at that; their regular bassist is temporarily absent and Iero is filling in.
