[ATTENDED: May 19, 2019] The Contortionist
I don’t understand how I have never heard of The Contortionist (which is a spectacular name for a prog-metal band, especially in the singular). They have been making prog-metal since 2007. And prog metal is one of my jams.
So how could I not know about these guys (who have a pretty intense fanbase)?
They had this cool wooden cutout backdrop thing which I rather liked. Although when the lights came on I saw that it was beat up and weathered–ah the magic of stage craft.
The band came out and the lighting was really intense. The light behind the wooden sculpture was lit up from time to time, but primarily the stage lights coordinated very well with the (diverse and very fast) riffs and drums. There were a few strobing moments that actually hurt my head.
I was in front of guitarist Cameron Maynard and bassist Jordan Eberhardt. The problem for me was that once this band took the stage an influx of very tall people came up front. Plus the lighting was mostly very very dark. I didn’t even realize there was a second guitarist (Robby Baca) for about three songs.
But I guess most of the attention was on singer Mike Lessard. He has a really solid and strong voice. He doesn’t wail, in fact it almost sounds delicate, but it has a lot of power behind it. It was puzzling to me because he looks so much unlike the front man of prog metal band–he looked a lot more like Emilio Estevez in The Breakfast Club which is not a slam on him at all–he had ad short hair and a hoodie–and with the lights so dark most of the time I couldn’t get a good sense of him at all.
In fact, what’s with a prog metal band having really dark lighting? Isn’t everyone there to watch how amazing they are on their instruments?
I think Lessard also spent some of his time manipulating his own spoken words between songs. I’m not sure if he was doing it or it was keyboardist Eric Guenther, but I think that between songs he was talking quietly and his words were echoing and morphing before the songs actually started. It was pretty cool.
Their first four songs were from their most recent (2017!) album, Clairvoyant. They were certainly heavy but with a kind of delicate prog metal sound (heavy guitar but complex melodies and gentle vocals).
Then he said they were going to get things moving by going to their debut album, Exoplanet. “Flourish” was radicallyradically different. There was some wild guitar soloing and an deep drop D sound. And Lessard sang in a kind of death growl!
The place went berserk with some insane slam dancing. I was pushed about twelve feet away from the center. Wow. It was hard to reconcile the way these guys looked with the sounds they were making. I mean Maynard and Lessard are so clean cut.
Then mid way through the song it returned to their prettier more proggy sound for a middle section of calm, including a lovely guitar interlude. Maynard played it all and it was fun to watch him play the seven string guitar and then switch into a ripping guitar solo. Then it went from pretty back to heavy growling insanity.
I was also really impressed with drummer Joey Baca, Looking at his drumset, he clearly has only one bass drum (and I’m not really sure what’s going on where his other drum should be. I know that’s a light, but there’s a lot of cymbals there). Anyhow, Baca did some amazing double bass drumming (which the lights synched up to in a moment of utter intensity).
I loved the cool bass line in “Integration,” and I was glad the crowd had parted briefly so I could see Eberhardt play it (a six string bass, I think). But I was surprised when the song once again went really dark and heavy and more slam dancing ensued.
At this point, unsurprisingly, “Solpsis” also started out very heavy but it’s only 90 seconds long. Then they launched into the final pairing of the night, the two part epic Language I and II. The second part (and the end of the show) was much heavier and more chaotic than part 1.
In doing my research I have learned that Lessard is the bands FOURTH singer (the only other change is in the bassist a few years ago). He has sung on the bands last two albums. Their previous singer Jonathan Carpenter was on the first two (the other two were earlier).
Listening to their studio records, it’s clear that they are much heavier live. I’m very curious to see what these guys do when they headline their own tour.
Looking at their release schedule, they should have a new album out pretty soon. I’d certainly see them again (if I can actually see them) if they come round.
- Return to Earth ©
- Godspeed ©
- Reimagined ©
- Clairvoyant ©
- Flourish €
- Integration £
- Solipsis ⊕
- Language I: Intuition £
- Language II: Conspire £
© = Clairvoyant (2017)
£ = Language (2014)
⊕ = Intrinsic (2012)
€ = Exoplanet (2010)
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