…And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead w/ Glorium / Ume 12.13.08 | Red 7 | Austin, TX by Chris Bennett, Music Extraordinaire Rumors swirled around this year-end show…partly due to the recent downsizing of Trail of Dead and partly because they were playing with Glorium again. The bill reminded me of a mid-90’s gig in College Station…home of the Texas Aggies, whom are known more for honky-tonk and beer hall fights than bringing the rock. Believe me…I lived there once. I arrived late to the dingy punk rock Mecca known as Red 7 with hopes the show hadn’t sold out by the thirty-somethings that managed to find babysitters that night. I slithered through the door, out to the outside stage where Ume (pronounced You May) immediately caught my attention with their energetic fast pick punk rock. Fronted by (what I was told) a husband and wife duo, she was amazing and he was spot on…it was apparent by the energy spilling out of the loudspeakers these two knew each other, and well. Tight, clean and precise playing elevated Ume to the top of my list for Austin bands to watch again. Perhaps an interview? One can only hope.
[Ume]
I polished off my Lone Star and pushed myself through to the inside bar where Glorium was prepping the crowd with their pre-show sound check. The show starts, and I was instantly reminded why these guys were the kings of the Texas art-noise scene in the mid-nineties. As a kid, I would have to step out of Stafford Opera House because they were just too damn loud! This Glorium, however played with the patience of true veterans. Gone are the bombastic freak-outs, which often times included a microphone shoved in mouth, as far back as the larynx and a scream that would stop a locomotive. This almost seems like a new band that just happens to be the same players.
[Glorium]
What has replaced that style was true understanding of not only what they were doing, but also how they wanted to pull it off. It was magnificent watching Glorium and the tension reminded me of a balance act between the old and the new. I kept waiting for the freak-outs…hell, the whole crowd did. What Glorium has managed to pull off is a tense waiting game that crescendos towards absolute breakdown – without the dramatic clatter of all out assault. They successfully leave you yearning for the freak-out, the breakdown, like you’re on the edge of your seat the entire time, waiting to be pushed over the edge. To create such a controlled view of tension is truly a sight I’m thankful I witnessed again. So now it was time for the band that I’ve followed since I was a sophomore in high school. My first reaction to the rumors of TOD changing from a 5 piece to a 3-piece band was excitement…but I found myself wondering if they would sound flat. The origins of the band are somewhat shrouded in mystery...at least in my memory. When I was a kid, they blew into town as a two-piece and were known for volumes that would literally make the mortared bricks of historic Northgate crumble. Add on a few vintage guitar breaks a la Pete Townsend, sprinkle in local-musician Kevin Allen to fill the role of bass guitar, and all of a sudden we had local heroes. And for a long time, Trail of Dead did not disappoint. Even their first release on (I believe) Trance Syndicate made us kids realize this was something special. Then Madonna came out on Merge Records and the national tours started and the press jumped on the bandwagon. Very exciting time for a very exciting band. In 2002, TOD made the jump from indie-label Merge to major-label Interscope for the release of Source Tags & Codes, which is by far my preferred release by the locals-made-good. In the time between 1995 and 2008, I’ve managed to catch the guys perform in five different cities and on both coasts. The last time I saw TOD in Austin, was the first of their two-night stint with Mogwai. Seeing Trail of Dead in their hometown is always a mixed bag of those who view them as a local treasure-and those who view them as arena rock aspiring ‘stars’. Trail of Dead proved everyone who ever doubted their song writing was the latent consequence of major label budgets. The set spanned their entire discography, with a heavy leaning (to my cheerful surprise) towards the strongest songs on Source Tags & Codes. I left the show happy, satisfied and with a renewed sense that Austin’s biggest art-punk band have purged what wasn’t necessary and that they have found their way…again.
>> www.myspace.com/trailofdead >> www.myspace.com/glorium >> www.myspace.com/umemusic