Show Review: Woodbine 10 Year Anniversary with Hormesis, Donna Allen, Terminator, Pure Adult at Trans Pecos. February 12th, 2024.
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“Either we submit to the dissociative logic of the web, or we turn to forms of defending embodied life” -The Reservoir
February 13, 2024
A twist of fate brought us to Trans Pecos last night for the Woodbine 10 year anniversary party featuring Hormesis, Donna Allen, Terminator, and Pure Adult. What’s Woodbine? According to their web bio they are “a volunteer-run experimental hub in Ridgewood, Queens for developing the practices, skills, and tools needed to build autonomy”. We met several people involved and got the impression that Woodbine is many things, but above all is focused on cultivating the power of the people to do good for themselves, each other, and the planet. That shit rocks. We bought a copy of their new book The Reservoir: Communion, a journal filled with writings from dozens of contributors that focus on a diverse range of real world manifestations of these themes. We’re excited to read it. Part of the reason Rrrat City Records started in the first place was from the desire to build a platform that can uplift the music and art of artists on the ground level of local movements.
We checked out the gear setup of the first act Hormesis before they took the stage. We then did some eardrum warm up exercises after seeing a 4 track tape recorder on the pedalboard with a cassette inside labeled “ASMR”. This duo was a pair of sonic sculpture artists. With an arsenal of percussion tools and audio effects, notes and tones across a spectrum of textures rang out. Deep rumblings fuzed with fizzy buzz in this auditory painting.
The second act, Donna Allen, was another duo but of a completely different flavor. They sat in heavy wooden chairs perfectly suited to their nylon guitar/harmonica sound. In between songs they talked about starting a low impact fight club which piqued our interest. The mix of covers and originals was pensive and soothing, with intricate fingerpicking on guitar.
Terminator took their trio and transformed themselves into a rocking four piece with the aid of a looper pedal. Their drummer was also their flutist, jumping back and forth between the kit and the microphone. These stomping songs were scuzzy and syrupy, like a constant dripping nose when you’re sick. Bass and guitar flowed like tree sap as layers of woodwind hung high in the air.
The night's bill was incredibly diverse so we made no preconceived assumptions about the last act, Pure Adult. Seeing their keyboardist/vocalist in a ZZ Top shirt gave us a hint though that this quintet was about to rip. And they did. It was as if their individual members had each absorbed all the night's sounds into their bodies, then collectively unleashed this pent up amalgamation on stage. Our favorite moments were when they fired on all cylinders, instrumental maximalism and both male and female vocals belting in unison.
There won’t be another Woodbine 10-year anniversary, but we’re hoping these bands will keep performing. Connect with them below and catch their next show!
