Blasted Canyons 2010-2013 (RIP)

Blasted Canyons (2010-2013)

The group announced yesterday via their Facebook that they have disbanded.

Here's some jams and stuff to remember them by, as they were a formidable presence playing live, with all three members exchanging instruments and working together to brew a cauldron of psych-noize for anybody lucky enough to have caught them (I saw them eight times myself) 

Not sure if all the links contained in the below still work, but if you want something and notice that it's not available, feel free to request.  I have a few more things out there, so I'll add to the list as time permits.

2012-05-23 - The Rickshaw Stop SF
(video of two songs) 

2012-03-27 - New Frontier Tacoma, WA
(video of complete performance) 

2012-03-25 - Linen Building, Boise ID
(video of 'Holy Geometry' filmed by Daniel Yoshida)

2012-03-10 - Pehrspace LA
(video of complete performance)

2012-01-29 - The Knockout SF  
(writeup, includes link to pictures and audio)

2011-12-15 - Thee Parkside SF
(writeup, includes links to pictures, audio, video)

July-Aug 2011 shows
(writeup of three seperate shows, including audio)

2010-11-14 - Eagles Tavern SF
(w/Thee Oh Sees, includes link to audio and two videos)

Blasted Canyons - The Knockout - 2012-01-29

Blasted Canyons
2012-01-29
The Knockout
San Francisco CA

recordist: thehappyone
kit: Church Audio CA-11 > Olympus LS-5

Setlist

soundcheck
Death and a Half
Holy Geometry [*]
Get High
Lasers vs Lizards
The Artist Formerly Known As Satan
Fries Yr Eyes
Blood On The Wall
The Man In Question
Liquid Fiend
Ice Cream Man
outro [Sid Vicious - My Way]

Download FLACs in a zipfile

Just got back from the eighth time seeing these guys last night [the 23rd of May 2012] at the Rickshaw, the recording which of course will eventually be featured here.

Not even a broken string and high-pitched whine (whom Matt graciously thanked, haha) could derail another mutant psych-drone sesh from these guys, brought to you by the Mission's premier dive bar, Le Knockout, and the crazed sounds from the group's Oberheim/axe/drumz.  If you haven't seen these guys play, they somehow manage to swap instruments just about after every song without breaking the ferocious amount of concentration and commitment or pandering to the audience...well, mostly.  Occasional reminders still were being meted out at this point. 

Live debut of 'The Artist Formerly...'  It slays.

I spent the time between sets reading Shaun Ryder's autobiog.  Perhaps coincidentally, or maybe not, a Mondays song was played over the PA.

If you STILL don't have their records, visit Castleface records and get that fixed, 'k?

The Mallard and Woolen Men from Portland sets are comin' up.

---

[*] The file still has my working title of 'Don't Say You'll Go' on it.

Blasted Canyons - 2011-12-15 - Thee Parkside SF (Positive Destruction presents)

Poster designed by Greer of The Mallard

It's about time I get the next series of posts one out of my back pocket.  "Expertly curated" indeed, the sounds of these groops (three local, one from Portland) complimented each other like peanut butter and jelly and/or a Parkside $6 PBR and whisky special with a pickleback chaser.

Presented in backwards order...this is the first of several posts to cover that night.

Matt from Blasted Canyons had point-blank announced they could never hope to top the two-drummers-and-keyboard onslaught of Hot Victory, but damn me if they didn't try their hardest to drill their sci-fi tinged psych-synth-punk-(ga)rage into everyone's heads in the process, indeed sounding like WWIII by the end of their first tune, a previously-unheard two part jam in the key of awesome.


Holy spawn of Cthlulu these kids can rage...and the master of disguise Finken looks different every single time I see him, wonder how he pulls that off.

Note:  'Blood On The Wall' was dedicated by Hether to Jay Bronzini, who had sadly passed away a few days before.


Dual-source audience blend, made with Olympus LS-5 sitting on Byron of Pow!'s guitar case and my partner in crime's Sonic Studios DSM-6s/L's > Edirol R-09HR.

Setlist

instrumental jam > Manson Eyes 
Fries Yr Eyes
Consider Drowning
Death and a Half
Liquid Fiend
Lasers vs Lizards
Ice Cream Man
Blood On The Wall

Download the full set from the Incubation bittorrent tracker

Or better yet, here's a video of the whole thing!  Cue to about 12:00 if you just want the songs and don't want to sit through the quite interesting lecture playing over the PA about the dangers of LSD.

Blasted Canyons July / August 2011 shows

Fedewa, Finken, Jones, The Uptown Oakland July 28th, 2011

It's my pleasure to bring to you the purveyors of one of my favorite LPs of 2011 (so far).  Blasted Canyons' #1 album is a sheer delight for those who like face-meltin' noize-psyche-garage-rock, the proverbial brown note for making the 24th-and-Church "hipster" set check the insides of their boxers for stains.  So don't you dare even consider going on until YOU HAVE BOUGHT THE DAMN THING.  No LP player, you ask?  Well, you can try going to one of their shows and hunting down a CD promo copy (I much prefer the vinyl, but did buy it on CD as well).  Or wait for the download card.  Or pick up a turntable and spin some wax to create your own personal digital version.

Let's face it, I was not put on this green earth to pump out blogorrhea like some balding failed post-rocker-turned-Pitchfork writer.  I'm playing with fire just mentioning hipsters.  And it's not like I can really do anything to stop you, anyway.  So enjoy yourself while your brane melts to these jams.

Presented in chronological order...


Blasted Canyons
2011-07-28
The Uptown Oakland
Opening for Thee Oh Sees


A TZ0TH1 blend, TZ0 with the Sonic Studios DSM-6s/Ls and TH1 with the Sony M-10 with built ins.

Setlist

1. Death And A Half
2. Fries Yr Eyes
3. Consider Drowning
4. Lasers vs. Lizards
5. The Man In Question
6. Ice Cream Man

Blast it! (FLACs in ZIP file, expires 2013-04-24)

Mini-review:  Set cut a bit short due to technical issues.    Really highlighted by Matt Jones being out front and bringing it.  A fine prelude to John Dwyer and co.'s merry mayhem.

credit: OutOfFocusSF

Blasted Canyons
2011-08-05
Engine Works
San Francisco CA

Unfortunately, I had just flown back in from Vegas and was too tired to venture out for this one.

Tomzero review:

So imagine you're back in school and your friend's parents are out of town. Let's have a party!  You can set up a bar in a corner. Maybe stock Tecate and Miller Lite.  Might as well get in some whiskey and vodka.  It's your friends, so you won't charge, but you'll take 'donations' for the drinks.  His parents have a cool basement.  There isn't a stage, but some of your friends are in a band, and they'll be happy to play.  The mics might not always work, but hey, punk rock.

credit: OutOfFocusSF

Engine Room!

Pretty much sums it up.  It was like going to a house party except I didn't know anyone else there.  Early show?  I got their supposedly late-ish (9:45) and of course, the first band hadn't finished setting up.

To cut to the chase - first band - pretty interesting. 2nd - the return of hardcore. 

Unfortunately at this point a couple of *really* drunk people showed up and decided to start a mosh pit.  Unfortunately, the slamming wasn't contained to the pit and I saw a couple of people who weren't willingly slamming get knocked pretty hard.

Blasted Canyons started to soundcheck and immediately had mic problems. They finally fixed it, sort of.  They played a good set. Unfortunately, it didn't sound that way.  Feedback most of the way through.  I'd say maybe the mix was off, but there was no mix.  It's your friends playing in a garage.  The drums weren't even mic'd. and I think they gave up on putting a vocal mic by the drummer.  I was in a good spot at the start, but the moshers showed up 2 songs in, and I was forced to move.  I didn't get a single photo, but there was a woman at the front who i believe videoed most of the set. It'll be interesting to see if and where this turns up.

[Note: the footage has been posted in part, see below]

TZ0 recording:  Sonic Studios DSM-6s/L's > Edirol R-09HR

Setlist

credit: OutOfFocusSF

1.  Death and a Half
2.  Fries Yr Eyes
3.  Consider Drowning
4.  Lasers vs. Lizards
5.  The Man In Question
6.  Get High
7.  Holy Geometry
8.  Blood On The Wall
9.  Ice Cream Man

The magnificent OutOfFocusSF visually documented the last two tracks for posterity.  Hopefully the rest of it shows up at some point!

Blast it! (link expires 2013-04-24)

Blasted Canyons
2011-08-19
Brick and Mortar

San Francisco CA

TZ0/TH1 blend, TZ0: Sonic Studios DSM-6s/Ls > Edirol R-09HR 

TH1: Church Audio CA-11 > Sony PCM-M10 w/built-in mics

Headlining set, Pow! and Terry Malts opened.

Same setlist as the Engine Works show from two weeks before.  Weird place in terms of vibe, kinda a wine dive bar with a great sound system and lots of space to watch bands, opened by the guy who runs the Independent...so the sound came out superb, in fact, it's probably one of our best pulls, except that I yelp all over the recording.  But it still must be heard, it's stunningly gooood.

Setlist

Malted Canyons!

1.  Death and a Half
2.  Fries Yr Eyes
3.  Consider Drowning
4.  Lasers vs. Lizards
5.  The Man In Question
6.  Get High
7.  Holy Geometry
8.  Blood On The Wall
9.  Ice Cream Man

Blast it! (link expires 2013-04-24)

Thee Oh Sees - 2010-11-11 - Eagle Tavern SF (w/Blasted Canyons)

  
2010 has heralded for me the discovery of one of the best live bands of my generation, right under my nose, as it were.  Some have called them one of the best SF underground groups, but I think their appeal is...or should be...more universal than that, even if I can't imagine them making any place else home, even if singer/guitarist John Dwyer started out in Providence, Rhode Island.  Over the course of the next few weeks, I'll be featuring many Thee Oh Sees live shows from the AMH archives, but I'm going to first start with the most recent show at Eagles Tavern SF, which functions as literally their home base, as they have played there once about every other month this year.

And on this occasion, they were every bit as full-on intense as the first two times I have seen them...they didn't finish the set with Warm Slime (Summertime Jam) but with the rarely-featured Grease segueing into Grease 2, a special treat for the hometown crowd.

credit: jskallerup

From my out-of-breath notes afterwards:  "No video from me, just impossible anyway given that it was absolute bedlam, but there were people filming, etc....JPD was a bit under the weather but that's never stopped him before.  By about midway through Contraption...I was pretty much toast...almost out of breath and had to ease back out of the pit...filled up on too much raw fish...blinding set, tomzero and I listened to it on the way home and have it on again now, probably will need some re-EQ to sound good, but is plenty listenable as-is, not bad for built-ins!."

Setlist: Enemy Destruct / Crushed Grass / Contraption / Tidal Wave / I Was Denied / The Dream / Block Of Ice / Grease > Grease 2. 

(The Grease segue is up on YouTube, so click on it to view!)