Cold Waves XIII continued on Saturday at Metro with a lineup heavy on newer bands, plus a couple of return visits. It was a pretty diverse lineup and a whole lot of fun.
E.T., which does not feature the Recees Pieces eating being from another planet, was up first. They were a duo but you’d have been hard pressed to know seeing as how they were playing in near darkness. Speaking of darkness, they were a dark themed blend of EDM, digital hardcore, and techno mostly. There was a pretty good range to their songs and they were all quite fast paced. The band played for a half an hour and it was quite enjoyable.
Choke Chain made a welcomed return to Cold Waves this year. This one man band plays some heavy industrial music that is very appealing to fans of bands like Skinny Puppy, Ministry, and bands of that era. The singer paced around the stage in a furor as he belted out lyrics over great, aggressive music. He was a highlight of the fest the last time he played and it was much the same this time. I hope Choke Chain plays this fest again and again, he’s that damn good!
I Speak Machine may be familiar to anyone who saw Gary Numan tour as Tara Busch, who is I Speak Machine, was the opening act for that tour and turned a lot of heads. Part electronic experimental band and part performance art, Tara commands the stage. Tara’s stage mannerisms were equal parts terrifying, intimidating, and hypnotic, and her vocals have a lot of range and are really great. Easily the most unique and fascinating performance of the entire weekend, I Speak Machine is a must-see act!
DJ Acucrack, the brainchild of Cold Waves founder Jason Novak, was up next. This was a super high energy set of fast electronic dance music but that’s not all, there were special guests! For their third track, Tara Busch/I Speak Machine came out and did vocals on a song, then right after that, Chris Connelly came out to sing their rendition of “Primal Understanding”, which is a song Chris did with Final Cut on their excellent album, Consumed. It was a solid 40 minute set that rarely stopped for air and never let off the gas pedal.
Light Asylum returned once again to the festival and it is always a treat when they do. This solo is the project of features Shannon Funchess and she plays hard edged dance music full of attitude. Shannon has an amazing, booming and bellowing voice and she danced around the stage as she belted out her vocals. The music was fantastic, as was the performance as.a whole.
The crowd up front seemed to transform from all the older people and Cold Waves regulars to a bunch of younger people when Clipping took the stage. This three piece was very unique. The best way to describe Clipping would be industrial hip-hop. It was a really interesting blend of these two musical styles. The young crowd up front was super excited and were jumping up and down and singling along to every song! The lead singer had a great vocal delivery and a strong stage presence as the two musicians behind him were largely hidden in the shadows at their table of gear. They played a rock solid, sixty minute set that left the audience wanting even more.
The second night of Cold Waves was another really fun evening with a lot of diversity in the musical styles in the lineup. The crowd definitely got their money’s worth out of the night.
