Sunburned Hand of the Man
+ others

Apr 1, 2006

@ Casa Del Popolo

part of April 2006 update

Wow, what an April Fool's Day... the opening acts were kind of a blur as we were in and out (the first band - a rock act with a strange lead singer - was pretty decent, while the parts of the third act seemed to wear out their welcome), but when 1:30 or so rolled around we were ready for some Sunburned Hand of the Man. These guys play music that can only be described as extremely fucked up. Either they're rocking it hard with crushing riffs, barrages of noise, feedback galore, and manic percussion, or they slow things down for expansive, brilliant psych-cum-avant-cum-what-the-fuck shit. Their first piece was probably my favourite; it really tore the Casa apart, sustaining a destructive climax for far longer than anyone else would expect. This venue was perfect for this type of act; small, awkward, and cramped, it made the whole experience that bit more in-your-face. I seem to have a memory of a band member singing at length into a mic stand with no mic at some point, but at this point I can't remember what was real and what wasn't...

Matt Shimmer