Culture: Deafheaven Redux - The Converse "Rubber Tracks" Concert @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg, New York

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - "The best things in live are free", say some people. Maybe so. At least on Internet you can find and do many things for free. Recently my wife and I got 2 free tickets for a Deafheaven concert in Brooklyn, New York City on Wednesday, November 19, 2014. The group had announced on their Facebook site that "Converse", a producer of sneakers, would offer free tickets for a series of US concerts, including a gig @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg, New York. 

According to Deafheaven`s Facebook page the tickets for the Brooklyn show were "sold out" in just one hour and the host had "oversold" the concert, because "Converse" had calculated that some ticket holders wouldn´t show up. We arrived there shortly after opening time 8pm and had no problems getting it.

This was our 5th gig by Deafheaven (driveby   after Bowery Ballroom, Manhattan 2011; Bottom Lounge & Pitchfork Festival, Chicago July 2014 and Music Hall of Williamsburg this September).

                                  Grace & Power

I believe that the Californian black metal band is one of the brightest shining suns in the contemporary rock universe. Yesterday I got the impression that their show had gotten even more intense. I especially enjoyed that the songs were more structured than before by slow atmospheric parts which raised the intensity of the whole show.

Frontman George Clarke is the great conductor of the rock scene. He enjoys to orchestrate the masses and almost creates a symbiotic relationship with his audience. Over the whole concert he was communicating with fluid gestures and in this way intensified the impression of his performance. Clarke`s voice is unique. His high pitched hissing screams are a defining element of the "Deafheaven experience".

As usual the band (lead guitarist and founding member Kerry McCoy, guitarist Shiv Mehra,  bassist Stephen Clark, drummer Daniel Tracy and a keyboarder  deafheaven) created tsunami waves of sound on which Clarke´s voice could surf. The delicately structured melodies, which sometimes reminded of baroque compositions by Händel ("Music for the Royal Fireworks") and Vivaldi ("The Four Seasons"), came with a furious power. Together they created massive walls of sound which lead to an unique melange of grace and sheer power.

I hope this sun won´t burn out any time soon.

Thanks a lot to Deafheaven, Converse and Facebook for this marvelous experience.