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5IVE, ANODYNE, SEPTIC YOUTH COMMAND, AND MAN THE CONVEYORS
Loud and Louder
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The cruel New England weather beat down on everybody who dared walk outside, but those of us within the walls of O’Brien’s Pub were being kept warm by beer and rock a week ago Saturday. Who could ask for anything more? Dracut five-piece Man the Conveyors defied their opening-band slot and slapped everybody awake with their mix of Discharge punk and Extreme Noise Terror, uh, terror. They had two singers — one a cute girl who growls like Satan, the other your standard giant, pissed-off male type — and the overall effect was solid and brutal. Boston’s own Septic Youth Command were fronted by underground-music legend Jonah Jenkins (Only Living Witness, Milligram), and they blew the hinges off the place. Jenkins seemed more to be stalking the audience than singing to it, and he had the support of Septic’s muscular rhythm section and a double-fisted guitar attack. This band know how to use the stage and connect with an audience, and they even did a damn fine Discharge cover. I’d seen Anodyne (ex-Boston, now NYC) just once before, and between that show and their recordings (their latest is Lifetime of Gray Skies, on Level Plane), they’ve never hit the mark for me. At O’Brien’s, their post-hardcore rock and noise was a little more exciting to watch than I’d remembered. The crowd loved them, hanging on every riff, transfixed by their sick drummer and the little world they created on stage. It seemed they were playing to one another more than to the audience. The headlining homegrown duo 5ive threw everybody for a second by setting up on the floor in the corner instead of on stage. But soon it seemed natural for a guitarist and a drummer who don’t move much to be among the crowd. Their stoner-rock vibe slowly overtook the room. They’re not just heavy and noisy; they’re beautiful to listen to. It’s hard to see how they create such a layered sound with just one guitar, but they do it. And they do it well.
BY IANN ROBINSON
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