The Mars Volta at the ICA
The Mars Volta
ICA, 18 June 2009
The first time I saw The Mars Volta was as a fairly slim (compared to now) five-piece back in 2002, supporting Les Savy Fav. I was one of the few in the crowd specifically there for them, but despite the lack of a big crowd they were electrifying, combining all the energy of the At The Drive-In days with a new musical confidence (plus at the time they had a kick-ass female bassist - always a bonus). By the time I saw them again headlining their own show the following year they had attracted an army of dedicated fans since the release of their debut album De-Loused In The Comatorium, changed personnel, become even more assured and turned into this jazz-inspired, jam-friendly rock monster. It was a pretty epic transformation and, maybe because my fragile little mind couldn't take it, hearing my favourite songs from the album turned into sometimes pretty unrecognisable 30-minute jams was a bit much for me at the time.
Years later I've slowly come to appreciate these free-styling, epic freak-outs which now grace much larger venues and often headline festivals but I must admit I was excitedly looking forward to this show which saw the Volta play their smallest show (just 300 people!) since the first time I had seen them in 2002 and also saw them scale-back their now huge eight-piece band to just six members, for their more back-to-basics, often acoustic, new album Octahedron. I was not disappointed.
Because it was such a small show for the Volta there was a tremendous buzz in the venue itself, full of people who had gone all out in order to get a ticket. There were whispers that the band were going to perform Octahedron in its entirety, that John Frusciante was going to make a surprise appearance, that they were going to pull out material from the Tremulant EP days and so forth. None of these rumours turned out to be true, but instead I thought we got a well-balanced set with material from all of the band's five albums, with energetic but no-nonsense renditions building to a epic, extended finale. It's true there were no improvised, breakdowns of any of the songs lasting half the show, with the songs fairly true to the album versions but the sweat and energy pouring off the band made the show pure awesome to watch.
Walking onto the stage at just after 8.30pm, (Omar dressed in his now usual shirt and waistcoat combo and Cedric, with shorter hair, in a polo shirt and awesome blue and silver shoes) they launched straight away into a tight, exhilarating Goliath, slightly slower but even more intense than the album version, followed almost immediately, without even a moment to take a breath, by a rapid-fire Cotopaxi, from the new album. This sounded incredible live but it was pretty apparent that Cedric's vocals were far too low in the mix, often drowned out completely by Omar's way-too-loud guitar, and he spent the next few songs signalling to the sound engineer to turn them up. Gradually they became more audible although it still wasn't perfect all night.
Without letting us up for air it was onto a whirlwind double-bill of Wax Simulacra (complete with drum solo from the amazing Thomas Pridgen instead of the usual sax solo) and the full-on assault of Viscera Eyes. Finally, things slowed down a little for the second new song Halo Of Nembutals, something of a slow-burning epic that is sure to build with each show. All the new songs proved to be surprising highlights though, with a groove-filled Teflon allowing Cedric to show off his nimble moves (although the small stage hindered any kind of jumping theatrics), the rush of Desperate Graves and album-closer Luciforms, which ended with Cedric singing lines from The Smiths' That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore.
I never get tired of hearing Roulette Dares, to my mind it's one of the band's true classics, and even stripped down to a slightly more faithful version, it still remains a highlight of every show. For those missing the jam-friendly Volta, Cygnus....Vismund Cygnus provided an exciting extended ending full of Pridgen's superb drumming and Omar's unique guitar flourishes (I have to say he was sweating loads, despite being a tiny guy, huge drops were falling from his head onto the floor) that lasted around 20 minutes. For some of the uber-fans The Widow was one of the show's more boring moments, but I found it haunting and almost ethereal, although it's true the band didn't look the most excited to be playing it. But I had never heard it live before and I thought it gave the show some contrast that it was missing, with all the high-intensity rock numbers that came before.
It ended with a superb Drunkship Of Lanterns, complete with freak-out from Omar that reminded me of his At The Drive-In days. With Omar's epic riffs, Cedric's charismatic vocals (his voice was the best I had ever heard it, despite the few sound problems) and rock star dance moves and Pridgen's masterful, but yet not overpowering, drumming, there were times when I felt that this is what seeing Led Zeppelin would have been like in their prime. It was that good.
The band was uncommunicative with the audience all night, as per usual, but there was an amusing moment when the lights suddenly all cut out, leaving the band standing in darkness inbetween songs prompting Cedric to put down the tea he was sipping throughout the night to ask three times into the microphone, each time increasingly more whiny and annoyed to "turn the lights back on, thank you!" But what they lack in witty stories and banter they certainly make up for in stage presence, volume (I was glad I had my earplugs) and sheer musical inventiveness.
Awesome stuff. Can't wait to see them again next month at Somerset House!
Years later I've slowly come to appreciate these free-styling, epic freak-outs which now grace much larger venues and often headline festivals but I must admit I was excitedly looking forward to this show which saw the Volta play their smallest show (just 300 people!) since the first time I had seen them in 2002 and also saw them scale-back their now huge eight-piece band to just six members, for their more back-to-basics, often acoustic, new album Octahedron. I was not disappointed.
Because it was such a small show for the Volta there was a tremendous buzz in the venue itself, full of people who had gone all out in order to get a ticket. There were whispers that the band were going to perform Octahedron in its entirety, that John Frusciante was going to make a surprise appearance, that they were going to pull out material from the Tremulant EP days and so forth. None of these rumours turned out to be true, but instead I thought we got a well-balanced set with material from all of the band's five albums, with energetic but no-nonsense renditions building to a epic, extended finale. It's true there were no improvised, breakdowns of any of the songs lasting half the show, with the songs fairly true to the album versions but the sweat and energy pouring off the band made the show pure awesome to watch.
Walking onto the stage at just after 8.30pm, (Omar dressed in his now usual shirt and waistcoat combo and Cedric, with shorter hair, in a polo shirt and awesome blue and silver shoes) they launched straight away into a tight, exhilarating Goliath, slightly slower but even more intense than the album version, followed almost immediately, without even a moment to take a breath, by a rapid-fire Cotopaxi, from the new album. This sounded incredible live but it was pretty apparent that Cedric's vocals were far too low in the mix, often drowned out completely by Omar's way-too-loud guitar, and he spent the next few songs signalling to the sound engineer to turn them up. Gradually they became more audible although it still wasn't perfect all night.
Without letting us up for air it was onto a whirlwind double-bill of Wax Simulacra (complete with drum solo from the amazing Thomas Pridgen instead of the usual sax solo) and the full-on assault of Viscera Eyes. Finally, things slowed down a little for the second new song Halo Of Nembutals, something of a slow-burning epic that is sure to build with each show. All the new songs proved to be surprising highlights though, with a groove-filled Teflon allowing Cedric to show off his nimble moves (although the small stage hindered any kind of jumping theatrics), the rush of Desperate Graves and album-closer Luciforms, which ended with Cedric singing lines from The Smiths' That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore.
I never get tired of hearing Roulette Dares, to my mind it's one of the band's true classics, and even stripped down to a slightly more faithful version, it still remains a highlight of every show. For those missing the jam-friendly Volta, Cygnus....Vismund Cygnus provided an exciting extended ending full of Pridgen's superb drumming and Omar's unique guitar flourishes (I have to say he was sweating loads, despite being a tiny guy, huge drops were falling from his head onto the floor) that lasted around 20 minutes. For some of the uber-fans The Widow was one of the show's more boring moments, but I found it haunting and almost ethereal, although it's true the band didn't look the most excited to be playing it. But I had never heard it live before and I thought it gave the show some contrast that it was missing, with all the high-intensity rock numbers that came before.
It ended with a superb Drunkship Of Lanterns, complete with freak-out from Omar that reminded me of his At The Drive-In days. With Omar's epic riffs, Cedric's charismatic vocals (his voice was the best I had ever heard it, despite the few sound problems) and rock star dance moves and Pridgen's masterful, but yet not overpowering, drumming, there were times when I felt that this is what seeing Led Zeppelin would have been like in their prime. It was that good.
The band was uncommunicative with the audience all night, as per usual, but there was an amusing moment when the lights suddenly all cut out, leaving the band standing in darkness inbetween songs prompting Cedric to put down the tea he was sipping throughout the night to ask three times into the microphone, each time increasingly more whiny and annoyed to "turn the lights back on, thank you!" But what they lack in witty stories and banter they certainly make up for in stage presence, volume (I was glad I had my earplugs) and sheer musical inventiveness.
Awesome stuff. Can't wait to see them again next month at Somerset House!
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