Show Review: Buff Ginger, Bloodsports, Doused, Lockstep, MX Lonely at Gold Sounds.
April 13th, 2024
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I’ve seen the boss blink on and off.
April 14, 2024
A star has five points. A static electric energy hung in the air last night at Brooklyn’s Gold Sounds as five bands came together to make something greater than the sum of its parts. Like a momentary eclipse of a burning star. Buff Ginger, Bloodsports, Doused, Lockstep, and MX Lonely, awash in red light, took us to another plane. Here’s our recollection of events.
A curtain of noise slowly opened to reveal Buff Ginger’s first song. Their guitarist/vocalist crafted all sorts of noise and found-sound transitions with the use of a stool top sampler. Early on, second guitar was strumming chords with their detached whammy bar as a pick. These downtempo tunes were a double dose of Benadryl. Our favorite moments came in vocal harmonies when the guitarist and bassist sang together. Between all the noise, the slowly spinning disco lights, and tequila, it was a fully disorienting experience.
It was apparent that a dense racket was on the menu for the night. There was so much gear all over the place, never had we ever seen this amount of equipment at a show. In front of the sound booth was a small snow capped mountain of bags and cases. During the changeover to Bloodsports, a girl no older than six and no taller than the hip confidently stomped around the bar for a bit. She looked skyward and shouted “excuse me!” to those in her way and was accompanied by a security detail that we assume must have been her parents. Wonder what her review of the bands would be.
Bloodsports also kept it mostly midtempo. At times the fastest moving thing was the slow orbit of the disco light. There was an interesting segment of back and forth between a few beats of crushing noise followed by a shorter beat of total silence. Over and over again. The experience amplified both pieces, the hammering clamor and the deafening quiet.
Early in Doused’s set one of their members got on the mic to proclaim “Yo fuck this horseshoe bullshit. Move up, this ain’t a hardcore show.” This comment left us both howling laughing and also deep in thought. They played many of their songs at the speed of sonic surfing, where the music grabs you by the collar and takes you for a ride. Just slightly faster than you can run on your own.
Lockstep was the first three piece of the night but had no problem bringing the noise. Deep growling basslines were heavy yet contemplative. Guitar mostly served as atmosphere, letting the songs be driven by the bass and snapping power of the drum kit. And we mean snap. The drummer personally installed an underlight below the snare, which somehow increased it’s volume. Seriously, it was loud as fuck. He hit that shit so hard that we think he snapped a stick at one point. We’re not 100% sure because what we mostly saw was the smoothest stick swap we’d ever seen, without breaking any time or rhythm.
MX Lonely headlined, they had their cake and they ate it, too. They featured a fizzy synth that sometimes took counter melody duties that created a fascinating dynamic within all the heaviness. Instrumentation was rock solid all around and when multiple members sang together the experience was hair raising. At one point the present casted a satisfying shadow of the past. “Don’t be cross/this sick I want”.
The night was a marathon with five acts on the bill. But like we said, it was a star studded event. Dig into these bands if you dig their sound. Connect with them on social media below and catch their next show!
