Lineup: Moon Tooth/Poh Hock/Vivisepulture
Venue: The Middle East Upstairs
Vivisepulture: Arrived late and missed their set.
Poh Hock: Poh Hock was on stage when I arrived, but it didn't take long at all for me to get into his set. Driven by a combination of catchy melodies, funky bass grooves and flashy guitar theatrics, the Native Construct guitarist's "solo" project (Hock has a bassist and drummer playing alongside him) featured the ideal balance of mellow atmospherics and absurd technicality that any quality instrumental prog metal act has to possess. Hock just dropped his debut EP last March and based on what I saw here, he absolutely has what it takes to eventually blossom into a genre staple.
Moon Tooth: Being in the ideal geographical position to catch a headlining show from the up-and-coming New York prog metal outfit Moon Tooth is a gift. The jovial energy and distinct melodic vocal/aggressive music dynamic that made Crux one of the best records of 2019 translates beautifully to stage. Their 65-minute set had a terrific flow to it, naturally alternating between their heavier and spacier cuts while also showcasing the tightness of their musicianship and ease in which they command a stage at every turn.
It was also clear how glad they were that people had come out to see them perform on an informal tour at such a tiny venue (Middle East Upstairs has a capacity of about 175), which is always a nice touch and subsequently made me feel like kind of a dick for not reciprocating that appreciation by buying merch. Hopefully Pure Noise continues to invest in these guys because they're a killer band that seems to have a very bright future ahead of them.
Grades:
Poh Hock: B
Moon Tooth: A-
Setlist:
Moon Tooth:
Musketeers
Silver Gallows
Trust
Omega Days
Through Ash
Thumb Spike
Motionless in Sky
Rhythm & Roar
Vesuvius I/Vesuvius II
Awe at All Angles
Crux
Encore:
Igneous
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