Show Review: Le Bang Album Release. December 8th, 2023
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Ne pas y aller de main morte
December 17th, 2023
On Friday, December 8th, we got off the L train at Wilson Ave and stumbled into Unruly Collective for Le Bang’s “Robot Island” album release show. The bill was a stacked and packed event with Cronies, Chronic, and November Girl providing support. We apologize in advance for not snapping photos of Cronies so we’re going to hype them up to start.
Cronies revved to life like a monster truck. Their bass shook our eyeballs from the back of the room by the bar. The crowd up front probably melted a little bit. We leaned over to the bartender to shout in their ear “Reminds me of The Melvins!” to which they headbanged in agreement. The whole set was a low end chainsaw to the soul and we were more than happy to get split in half.
We wondered how anyone could follow up such a thunderous opener but Chronic delivered. Donning a máscara de luchador, their frontman kept the pounding momentum going with a generous serving of riffage and guttural shouts. It was so wonderfully manic that they almost threw the stage carpet out from under their own feet. Crowd became pit and bodies flew.
A healthy meal is a balanced meal, like Captain Crunch is a part of this balanced breakfast that includes a fruit platter, buttered toast, and orange juice. Remember those commercials? Seriously, who on Earth eats Cinnamon Toast Crunch with a side of real toast. A truly psychotic suggestion from our childhood friend General Mills.
Anyway, November Girl was on next and brought balance to the force of the show. Their set was meditative yet dancy, with throbbing bass and echoing guitar that ran the gamut between 80’s new wave, shoegaze, and everything in between. Shouts out to their drummer who seemed determined to break on through their snare to the other side.
Before the show we put “Le Bang” into Google translate in giddy anticipation of learning what it meant. We learned two things from the results. Firstly we learned that “Le Bang” means “The Bang” and secondly we learned that we are idiots.
Le Bang certainly finished off the night with a bang. Our biggest impression from their set is that they are FUN. Their songs were quick and to the point with a nonchalant exuberance that is impossible to fake. And the crowd was picking up what they were putting down, with passion.
There’s levels to crowd moshing. At the most extreme end it’s overly aggressive and violent. You’ll catch a flying fist to the face if you’re not careful. In these moments women usually flee to safety and a handful of men dodge each other's flailing limbs as well as any suggestion that maybe they could use some therapy. But in this moment limbs were flung in a cathartic release of joy and everyone was involved. We call it “softcore moshing”.
Check out Le Bang's new album “Robot Island” and connect with Cronies, Chronic, and November Girl below to catch their next show!
