BLACK MASS XV Rachael’s Cafe

Tuesday night, around 10 pm, I made my way with a few friends to Rachael’s Cafe down on 3rd street to attend Black Mass XV, a noise show put on by Auris Apothecary, Justin Marc Lloyd, and Rat King. The show featured a friend of mine, Nate Tandy, and some musicians I’d never really heard of: Silent Hippie, Pusdrainer, and Pregnant Spore.

I sat in the back and chattered while a flock of eccentric looking people fumbled with amps and other equipment I couldn’t name. Out of these instruments sprouted loud noises correlated together to create a chaotic stream of music that shocked me right out of my skin. Seeing as it was my first noise show, I was pretty determined to understand, but in the end I realized there really wasn’t anything to understand. I sat back in my chair, tipped my head a little, and just really listened. Once the general attack of static hit you, the rest was a pretty intense combination of sounds. I enjoyed myself immensely.

Pregnant Spore was definitely my favorite with his pedal/noise box that began with a light, hypnotic tune (probably what flying would feel like O_0) and then a startling finish. While Pusdrainer was wicked as well (if you count the Satanic documentary-like audio at the beginning that described the mutilation performed in a Satanic ritual as wicked),  I felt a little nervous when they started covering the floor in plastic. Needless to say, when the performer began pouring thick, blue wax- or whatever it was- down his chest and spewing it all over the place I was absorbed, though a little frightened. Most of what I could think of afterward is how the six-year-old holding his ears in the back of the cafe was going to feel once he hit puberty.