Hecklergigs: A Place To Bury Strangers, The Legion, 8/5

‘Bring earplugs’ they said. ‘Stand at the back’ they said. ‘They’re the loudest band in New York’ they said.

Well ‘they’ get top marks for believing the hype, but they could also require after-hours schooling for a little reality, because if A Place To Bury Strangers are the loudest band in New York then the city that never sleeps is in line for some well deserved shut eye.

It may be the aural abilities of The Legion, Shoreditch’s nearest thing to an alpine ski bar, but even stood close to the stage with ears unplugged, our tympanic membranes remain intact and not even a drop of blood trickles from our auditory canal.

This is no bad thing, and in truth we’re only disappointed because we believed the hype ourselves. Watching a band labelled the loudest in New York is enough to get anyone intrigued, and after reading the stories of record pressing plants broken by excessive noise levels, blown power circuits and raucous SXSW shows, excitement is high.

This is a band who, when shut down by local cops after only two songs because of the residents’ complaints, were allowed to play a third and final track by the officer because “this band is sick.”

That’s sick in the American sense of being rather good (see also ‘rad’ and ‘gnarly’), and even if APTBS haven’t quite rendered us deaf, we’re still inclined to agree with the kind policeman.

After setting up their own gear, the trio (Jay Space on drums, Jono MOFO on bass and frontman Oliver Ackermann) get to work, and although not ear-splitting, they are suitably fierce.

Lead singer Ackermann’s day job is making guitar effects pedals for his company Death By Audio, suppliers to bands including U2, Wilco and Nine Inch Nails, and he does a good job of combining work with pleasure by employing so much fuzz on his guitar that it could run off and join the muppets.

On record, tracks like Ocean and I Know I’ll See You Again are strongly reminiscent of fellow fuzz lovers My Bloody Valentine, Jesus and Mary Chain and The Cure, but the live version isn’t retro - it’s more like playing some of those bands on your iPod as you jump out of a plane.

Exhillarating stuff, but it is a bit of a shame that the lyrics are getting lost in the excellent wall of feedback because “I’ll just wait for you to turn around and I’ll kick your head in” from To Fix The Gash In Your Head really is one of this year’s best.

The room full of mostly first-time watchers are certainly enjoying it though, and as Ackermann rips the strings from his guitar like he’s disemboweling a demon, the evening hits a high point.

So maybe not the loudest band in New York, but they really could be one of the best.

[story by Tom Atkinson]