The Black Angels with Daughters of the Sun at 7th Street Entry on 2/16/06

By: Brian Marx

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The Black Angels - Publicity Photo

The Black Angels’ gig in The Entry was so loud that the buzzing in my ears seemed to replay the concert in its entirety the next day. Of course, it didn’t help that I stood two feet in front of the lead guitarist and directly below the screaming speakers. I managed to get my premium spot because of the torturous weather outside, as many potential attendees were at home with their space heaters turned up to eleven.

From the moment I entered the comfortably half-full Entry, the space was awash in psychedelic drone-rock. Local 60’s revivalists Daughters of the Sun opened with a higher pitched, slightly less polished example of what was to follow. Front men N.A. Koenigs and Teddy Brockway traded screaming and sing-speak duties, while their supporting cast produced a fuzzed out, head-nodding wall of sound. The quintet enthusiastically rocked through their five-song EP Silver and Cream Demos, plus a few other songs they hope to record in the near future.

Someone seeing The Black Angels for the first time might come to a few abrupt conclusions. First - and I already said this - they’re really fucking loud. Second, they are unashamed of their influences. Their name comes from The Velvet Underground’s “The Black Angel Death Song,” and the band plays self-described “drone n’ roll” - extremely catchy, sometimes dark, psychedelic drone rock. Their female drummer is not only very good, but very hot. And after absorbing all that, just close your eyes and reminisce about the time you, Andy Warhol and Nico dropped acid.

Like many of their drug-hazed predecessors, this Austin-based band takes a penetrating and mysterious approach to their music and performance. They set the mood with a constant glow of red light, expressionless faces and little to no crowd banter. With Alex Mass’ Jim Morrison-esqe vocals and lyrics like, “you make me realize I'm not the kindest guy, but I kill, kill, kill, kill,” I caught myself looking over my shoulder. Audience members’ shouts of approval intensified the socio-political subjects of songs like “The First Vietnam War” and “Manipulation.” The encore-less set reached its boiling point when the fuzzy blues notes of crowd favorite “Black Grease” cascaded across the venue.

This was The Black Angels’ second stop in Minneapolis in the past four months, both visits in support of their four-song, self-titled EP. Thursday’s gig was also showcased songs from their debut full length, due out later this year. If you like the Brian Jonestown Massacre, you will likely also dig this band.

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Location Info: 7th Street Entry
Artist Info: Daughters of the Sun, The Black Angels

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