“I’m not just being old about it. This shit is LOUD” – Velodrome w/ Screen Vinyl Image @ Selam
May 28, 2008 by Sexy Fitsum
> Part deux of a two-tier friday night.
Ed Dudes posted a myspace bulletin the morning after last friday night’s Velodrome:
Thanks to everyone for coming out tonight. Sorry it was a little loud during the band; you know how it is to want to rock the fuck out.
Actually I do know how it is. I started fucking my ears up playing in rock bands at the age of 13, practicing at full volume in concrete-walled basements for days. Even today after years of seeing bands and djs and standing right next to giant speakers for longer than I should, I rarely use ear protection. That said, what Screen Vinyl Image did last friday was just wrong. They were “a little loud” like Jesus got “a little crucified”. It was as if some asshole made a giant soggy stick from all the bad parts of The Jesus and Mary Chain and beat my head with it for 30 or 40 minutes. Maybe if it didn’t sound like they played the same distortion patterns (call them songs if you want. I won’t) 11 times, though saying they ‘played’ anything is a step towards actually aknowledging some sort of musical or even purposeful thing took place. I can’t do that. And I’m wondering whose sick joke it is that they tour with Ulrich Shnauss.
How welcome was it when SVI’s military-grade psyops came to and end and Ed and Scott got back the party back into shape? Both Audrey and Yumiko were celebrating birthdays, and the buzz I groomed back at the Hillyer was making a classy comeback. This was the party that was packing Selam and causing cozy conditions. I even remembered the happy times between getting out of the cab right in front of Selam and Screen Vinyl’s first horrid note, chatting with people outside the club and enjoying the perfect midnight weather.
The complete photoset is here.
:)
yeah I wanted to make sure it wasn’t just me being old man river
agreed. wanted to stay for the dj set but we couldnt make it through the noise for so long. and it definitely wasnt about being old.
fitsum – my last memory before leaving was you hanging your head looking like you wanted to hit it against something to stop the noise.
May 28, 2008 at 2:34 pmIt was extremly loud, but in Screen Vinyl Images defense, I think it largely has to do with the room. We had the same problem last month with the live band. The low ceilings and tile floors make the guitar amps really really loud. At the booth we can turn the treble down but its much harder for the band to do anything about it. We’re working on it. I thought Screen Vinyl Image played a really awesome set as did many people. Extremely loud? Yes but again, not their fault. Thanks for the honest review though Fitsum, that’s why I love you, that and your penchant for Miami Vice sound tracks!
May 28, 2008 at 3:01 pmHere is a show review Peter wrote of SVI at Velvet a little while back (with photos by Rachel).
Just for the sake of compare and contrast purposes:
http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/live-dc/live-dc-a-sunny-day-in-glasgow-screen-vinyl-image-velvet-lounge/
(he loved them)
May 28, 2008 at 3:11 pm@Scott:
hearing “Crockett’s Theme” is one of the main reason’s I come by. as far as the band being loud, I noticed their amps came with adjustable knobs for volume … :)
@Pete’s review:
Pete’s a psycho. But at least he was going to a show w/ a clue as to what he was in for. Interesting that he also referenced Jesus and Mary Chain. Pyscho Candy is in my top 10. And I get the guy in the review who wanted SVI to play louder. I just wasn’t prepared for any of that. Or the succubus twins – http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3135/2526219309_d91b68e39c_m.jpg
I missed the band as I was checking out the perfect volume leveled shennanigans that were Death By Sexy an Schaffer the Darklord rocking it out at Asylum, but made it for the disco, and it was tight. Also – I was totally faking it in that pic of me knob twiddling up there – Ed and Scott deserve all the kudos.
May 28, 2008 at 3:59 pmgood thing we left the strobes in the car, we might have had to take fitsum to the hospital.
May 28, 2008 at 4:34 pmwhile not a fan of music being loud just for the sake of being loud, I didn’t have that complaint from Friday’s show. Screen Vinyl Image is actually one of the few bands who I find always play at a volume that’s appropriate for the songs, and this set was no exception. The music that was being DJ’d was also very good, and SVI complimented it perfectly in terms of being beat-heavy, melodic, and entrancing. The “sick joke” tour with Ulrich has “highlight of the year contender” written all over it, along with the shows the night before- the amazing Sharron Kraus & local visceral champions Kuschty Rye Ergot- and the night after- Silver Apples- all taking place at the Velvet Lounge. SVI is definitely not background music and probably won’t envelope ones buzz in classiness and coziness, but I’d say that the night was well in shape throughout both the DJ & live music portions. I happen to be a pretty big fan of treble in general, so maybe I’m ‘biased’ (apologies for the bad pun), but I was definitely well-satisfied with the band’s set.
May 28, 2008 at 4:51 pmI had one too many Kamikaze’s to remember how loud anything was.
btw SCOTT & ED, the music was PERFECCCTTTTT ;)
May 28, 2008 at 5:05 pm@Greg – Im OK with challenging music – http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/live-dc/nudity-w-vincent-black-shadow-crazy-dreams-band-insect-factory-velvet-lounge/ – but always appreciate a heads up. It was a matter of being in the mood for it.
May 28, 2008 at 5:25 pmfunny, but THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN (one of S.V.I.’s influences) got the exact same complaints of being “too loud” during their early years. and, as we know, people eventually came around and sweat them to this very day. not agreeing with or putting down their sound levels last week, as i had an out of town engagement, but i’m just sayin’….
May 29, 2008 at 12:29 pmSee here’s the thing:
before writing this post I looked up SVI on youtube and myspace to figure out what they actually sound like — marinate on that for a second. The first thing I thought was, hmmm Jesus and Mary Chain, remembering the first time I heard track 1 — which for some fucked up reason isn’t “Never Understanding Me” anymore — and wondering how rawsome it would be to check them live and feel my ears turn to bubbling plasma. But I wasn’t feeling that way that night. Sometimes I feel like a nut, sometimes I don’t.
“remembering the first time I heard track 1 — which for some fucked up reason isn’t “Never Understanding Me” anymore”
nope, it’s “just like honey”…. followed by “the living end”. yeah, color me obsessed with JAMC. they’re one of my all time favorites…
May 29, 2008 at 3:22 pmnah joe, that’s reissue talk – when I got that piece in 84 “never” was first and “honey” was 4th or 5th. now I gotta dig crates at my mom’s this weekend ….
May 29, 2008 at 3:35 pmfor me, (just) one of things that separates SVI from most other acts mining similar sonic territory is that they aren’t coy and mannered…their higher than avg volume quotient and guitar attack gives the songs a punch and power that a lot of their peers only hint at. Great stuff.
June 2, 2008 at 10:30 ami was agreeing with you FITSUM…hahaha. i was just pointing out that the current version has “just like honey” first and blah, blah, blah. now, if we could only get them to play one of those reunion shows at a club in DC…
June 2, 2008 at 3:31 pmOh, right right. I see.
:P
Personally, I really enjoyed SVI at this show. In fact, I thought it was one of their strongest ones to date–they showcased some new songs which have become fast favorites of mine. Maybe I’m just used to lots of really loud shows and feedback but I didn’t feel it was unnecessarily loud that night (I was standing all the way at the back of the room). They obviously love early J&MC but there’s a lot more to the band than Sexy Fitsum’s review would suggest. I can definitely hear Suicide in the drum machine programming and some of their harsher sensibilities; they’re newer songs are also emphasizing more of the keyboard textures and atmospherics one associates with early 80s Factory Records bands and John Carpenter soundtracks. Hell, their “Chaser” single is even a bit trip-hoppy. But like their influences, SVI’s music isn’t going to appeal to everyone. And for that I’m thankful.
June 4, 2008 at 1:08 pm
“I’m not being old about it. This shit is LOUD.”
Yeah I wanted to check the set but my attempt to follow the noise stopped at the bar.
Loud as mtherfk.
I do recall that quote, though.
May 28, 2008 at 1:45 pmMmm shortly after that convo..
[clearly (.jpeg)]
I do not remember much else.