Day Party Crawl
By Austin Powell, Fri., March 16, 2007
'Vice' Saves Texas
Longbranch Inn/Kenny Dorham's Backyard/Victory Grill, Friday, March 16
Only Japanese metal saviors Boris held the power to save Vice's disastrous block party. Following their cancellation, along with Houston's Indian Jewelry and David Yow's latest noise bomb Qui, the hipster empire suffered a painful fall from grace. Gris Gris frontman Greg Ashley opened with hypnotic acoustic tunes that were down right depressing. In the Victory Grill, Clockcleaner left heads ringing with abrasive, acid-rock freak-outs that sounded straight from the canal of the Butthole Surfers, topped only by the relentless, pedal-to-the-metal instrumental opus by Earthless that rivaled Sleep's "Dopesmoker." Less successful were Turzi's electronic tremors. The psychedelic drone of Deerhunter was about as entertaining as standing in the 20-minute entry, beer, or restroom line. Thankfully, Big Business killed as scheduled. Jared Warren, the ace of bass besides King Buzzo in the Melvins, brought forth the flood with latest Here Come the Waterworks. The shock appeal of Norway's Turbonegro faded quickly after the hour-plus set change. Fucked Up, the Black Lips, and Against Me closed with a deadly triple shot of spastic punk rock. Next time, save yourself.
