Die For The Indian

I was out of the country a couple of weekends ago and missed the HIGH ON FIRE show at the Viper Room.  Say what you want about that venue, but it always sounds good in there.  It had to be a fiun evening.  Also playing that night were their labelmates INDIAN out of the Windy City.  That band formed the year I left Chicago to come out here.  It seems like ever since I left that town, the music has steadily improved.  A lot of the credit has to go to Sanford Parker, who plays in MINSK and BURIED AT SEA, but may be better known now -- like his friend and fellow northsider Steve Albini -- as a producer.  Parker burst on to the scene when he engineered PELICAN's first EP, and today he's responsible for making many of your favorite bands, particularly of the sludge and doom variety, sound so fucking good.  He was behind the boards for all of INDIAN's full length output, including this year's stellar Guiltless.  True to their form, it stands out as one of the heaviest releases of 2011.  And true to my form, the only other thing more I want to say is listen to it yourself:

I started this blog in 2008.  Last year, we had our inaugural anniversary show at the Echo with CROM, IT's CASUAL and GREEN & WOOD.  I wasn't sure we would do it again but Martin of OVRCAST knew I was looking for the right bil.  Well, he found it.  And when he agreed we could charge $5 Fugazi-style, we were all in.  I know a lot of you've been spoiled with free shows but that should be the exception, not the rule.  You get served, they get paid.  And served you shall be.  Take these words from BATILLUS, the NY doom band that laid waste to the second floor of (the) Handbag Factory last Friday and toured with INDIAN over the summer:    

Indian are off to Canada now to finish their tour (that is, if they can get across the border) and we’re back to our mundane ‘regular’ lives. A few words about Indian… Their music and their performance: pure hatred, violence, and misanthropy. It’s quite something to watch them play; I’m fairly certain (though this is merely my opinion and in no way has been corroborated by anyone actually in that band) that their primary goal is to make people feel uncomfortable. And I love it.

Now the first Thanksgiving was allegedly a pretty comfortable festival bringing together the pilgrims and the native americans who taught them how to harvest the food they ate.  After that, let's just say the comfort level between the two groups declined.  You'll get a taste of that Saturday night, or at least your ears will.  As always, protect yourself at all times.