There was At The Drive-In. They were great, then they broke up. Then there was The Mars Volta. They were great, then they broke up. And then before you could say “Now where will I get my 20 minute solo’s?“ Omar Rodriguez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala formed Antemasque. They quickly dropped a well received self titled album online (before an official release in November) and ran around the planet with Le Butcherettes in support of it.
It’s testament to just how seasoned the members of Antemasque are after over two decades on tour, that Le Butcherettes don’t absolutely blow them off the stage. Le Butcherettes have two solid garage rock albums, but hearing any of those songs live is an entirely different experience. With only singer/guitarist Teri Gender Bender, drummer Lina Braswell and a bassist borrowed from Antemasque, they make an impossible racket. The music is intense, but never chaotic, even with Teri leaping around the stage barefoot. It’s almost as if she’s unaware of the crowd and the performance is entirely for her. Live they add a whole other layer to their music, making their albums genuinely sound a little plain upon revisiting. Le Butcherettes would’ve pretty easily walked away with the show if they were opening for any other band.
But despite this being Antemasque’s first album and first tour, they are far from green. They walk out, politely introduce themselves and launch into ‘In The Lurch‘. The songs are fast, aggressive, catchy and the lyrics message is relatively easy to decipher. The record is essentially a warm up for the live performance. ‘Momento Mori‘ gets a huge crowd welcome with arguably the catchiest hook on the album. The stripped back sound goes over well. And just incase you were missing those 20 minute jam sessions, ‘Providence‘ pays tribute to the late Isaiah Randolph Owens (Who played keyboards with The Mars Volta and died 24 hours earlier) The jam extends the song by about 15 minutes, to the point even the most hardcore fans have stopped moving. Then the chorus comes back in and feels electric. Even with the heavy atmosphere the band actually all look like they’re having fun. Omar smiles at the crowd playfully (compared to his sullen face during 2012’s At The Drive-In reunion) and the crowd loves every minute.
