EVANGELISTA - HELLO, VOYAGER

A couple of Sundays ago, Ann Powers wrote a terrifically pointed analysis of masculinity in contemporary rock for the L.A. Times in a Calendar page headlining: “Nick Cave and the Alpha Male Rockers”. She sites bands like Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Mark Lanegan/ The Gutter Twins, and DeVotchka as archetypes of a style of Gothic drenched Rock music that openly celebrates masculinity in spite of the genre’s historically emasculated roots. While a well conceived recognition of long standing counter-culture trends, the article fails to recognize the very vibrant subculture of Gothic driven female rockers like Carla Bozulich, Marissa Nadler, and Elisa Ambrogio (Magik Markers) who thrive on the reappropriation of masculine forms and yet remain wholly unnoticed by the mainstream press.

More often than not these female led rock bands are minimalized by genre tags too specific for their metamorphose, yet consistently heavy music. ‘Noise’, ‘Experimental’, ‘Freak Folk’, and ‘Singer-Songwriter’ are all too commonly pinned to albums by these bands who tread the same sonic and thematic ground as Nick Cave and his L.A. Times brethren. At the forefront of this female underground and an easy non-baritone surrogate for Nick Cave is Carla Bozulich whose latest album with her new band Evangelista does testosterone heavy doom rock better than most boys.

Apocalyptic religious symbolism is soaked in reverberant feedback squalls provided by members of A Silver Mt. Zion and Godspeed You Black Emporer! as Bozulich alternately plays Pentecostal preacher and lascivious carnival barker on “Hello, Voyager.” Primal percussion and subterranean white noise are the poisons of choice, but through the muck and mire, there is the ever-present tribal pump of base rock n’ roll. And when Evangelista rock, they really rock. It’s all punk and Goth and noise – enough to make Nick Cave stagger and swoon. The quiet moments have just as much gravitas: bellowing and iron-laden as they build to the kicking of pricks and gnashing of teeth of the louder tracks. Envangelista could just as easily be called The Bad Seeds or Grinder(wo)man or The Birthday Party.

Heavy Romanticism is the bread and butter of masculine Goth rockers and Evangelista have no trouble testifying to the haunted fate of humanity. In shrieks and wails Bozulich crowns herself ‘the empress, the queen, the king’ and proclaims ‘I like loud things’ and it is impossible to deny her. This isn’t new territory for Carla either. She did it with Ethyl Meatplow in the early Ninety’s and the Geraldine Fibbers soon after they split ways. Like Cave with “Dig, Lazarus, Dig” and his work with Grinderman, Bozulich is hitting her stride now with Evangelista and hopefully more people will begin to mention her work, as well as that of the ranks of female goth rockers grinding it out in the trenches, alongside the men.

BLITZEN TRAPPER/ FLEET FOXES/ GRAND ARCHIVES @ Troubadour - LA

Creative billing is an art form. Putting two like-minded bands together for a tour is one thing, placing three distinct, equally talented bands is another. It’s a somewhat more common phenomenon in revival house cinemas where creative pairing of films is most often the domain of a single curator whose job it is to create an appealing and original lineup. However, in film I imagine this to be a much less daunting task than in music where it is much easier to alienate an audience. For one thing, the revival house curator has the flexibility of matching films not only by genre, but by star, director, historical period, subject matter, remake, plot structure, and even title similarities. I can’t imagine a bill with The Eagles and The Metallic Falcons on the basis that their band names both include birds of prey. In the music world, touring partners are often decided by booking agents, record labels, and sometimes the bands themselves and are often based on more practical matters such as location of residence, label of origin, or personality (they have to see each other everyday after all). Both in music and film, however, pairings often strive to introduce fans of a single act or work to a complimentary band or film. Often times I find myself plodding along with openers, counting down the songs to the main course, or coming early for the unknowns and leaving before the rush. So, taking these factors into consideration, I find that when music billings work well, they are a spectacular phenomenon. In these regards the matching of Blitzen Trapper with Fleet Foxes and Grand Archives was an inspired tri-fecta.

First up were Fleet Foxes who were a terrific surprise for me. Their bread and butter is vocal harmony soaked in nostalgic reverence and they wear their influences on their sleeves, yet manage to create something original. If you can imagine vocal dramatists like Jim James or Band of Horses as backed by the lush arrangements of Grizzly Bear and the driving rhythms of Arcade Fire, yet in the songwriting traditions of contemporaries Phosphorescent or Bon Iver, you would have something approaching what Fleet Foxes sound like. So, yeah, I think that Fleet Foxes draw a bit heavily from touchstones of contemporary indie rock, but I think with some touring time behind them, they could develop into a band very much on par with their accomplished musical brethren.

Grand Archives put on the pop show of the three groups without dismissing the country and classic rock tendencies that all three bands displayed a knack for. They had the biggest support group at the Troubadour and they sounded confident if not a little on the safe side of things.

Blitzen Trapper was the perfect headliner for this motley crew. Bringing an equal measure of noise and pop and country and classic rock, this oddly shambolic troupe combined sonic elements from their predecessors into a whirlwind of hyperactive country rockers and whisky soaked laments. Blitzen Trapper captured the ADD, pop-culture and meth-addled tension of modern rural life like no other band I’ve seen. The lead singer was captivatingly poised without being rigid and I was certain the drummer was going to bust through the heads on all of his toms. Each of the three like-minded but distinct bands that graced the Troubadour stage Friday night benefited from the contributions of their touring partners in what is perhaps the ultimate achievement of creative billing.