Live: Do Make Say Think @ The House Cafe (2/25)

The weather in the Midwest last night was a fucking awful mess of snow and rain, and made the trip to this show a real fucking pain in the ass. Nonetheless, I braved the elements and ventured to The House Cafe for the first time. I figured not a goddamn soul would be punishing themselves by sludging it out to the show, but there was a surprisingly good amount of attendees. In fact, recently I've been surprised by other instrumental post-rock scenes in really odd locations throughout Illinois. Why this phenomenon is occurring is totally beyond me, as most of the shows I've seen by any band that is even vaguely considered post-rock tends to be a total fucking snore.

Whatever the case, I made it out to see Do Make Say Think on the eve of the release of their new record You, You're A History In Rust. The band boasted, at times, eight members on stage, whose presence often equated to that of a group of mannequins. Granted, they played all their songs well; however, it would not be a stretch to use the word mechanical. Things really only took off during one or two songs, most notably during Winter Hymn Country Hymn Secret Hymn's opener 'Fredericia'. I would argue that DMST's lack luster performance has more to do with their style of music than it has to do with their lack of physicality, and it remains clear that there are not many post-rock bands really getting anywhere close to what they are doing, regardless of the fact that most of the songs have a boringly similar ebb and flow. I appreciate a working dramatic dynamic, but doing the same soft-loud-bottom-out recipe is probably more exhausting to sit through than it is to play. Dig them on record, go to the shows if you've got a lot of spare dope.

Do Make Say Think - Fredericia