Diandra Reviews It All

Satan’s Graffiti or God’s Art? is the name of The Black Lips newest album, of which they celebrated at Webster Hall. The name of their album carries more importance than you think, in terms, of how their concert is set. With flashing lights of chaos, their bodies gyrating across the stage, and their guitars being strained like towels for the final drips of sound they can make, their concert felt like a fantastical version of Hell.

Black Lips – Can’t Hold On (official video)

I never thought I’d say a band summoning a hellish vibe at a concert was a compliment. Yet, The Black Lips play to the spiraling downward a person can feel, and the emotional challenge of figuring out how or if your want to fight said spiral. Tracks like “The Last Cul-De-Sac”, “Occidental Front”, and “Can’t Hold On” capture the suffocated sentiments of feeling “stuck” either by the falsehoods of your surroundings or the bare falseness you put on to fit in with them. Thus, it makes sense that toilet paper was tossed into the crowd, to our amusement, because The Black Lips’ show is a roaring declaration that you are over the “BS” this world has to offer. Physically and vocally they stretch and contort themselves to look as if they are breaking off layers of skin they put on to camouflage and survive a social desert. I note the importance of this aura because it is so befitting of the times. I walked out of Webster Hall feeling like I could light the world on fire, which is a feeling I think everyone misses having; not that you actually would, but you yearn for that inner fire that made you impenetrable to others’ pressure or heat. Using wry humor, psychedelic instrumentals, and rock n’ roll antics such as keeling over their instruments and scraping the floor as if their guitar was so powerful they could barely contain it to play it, the crowd had a complete sensory experience.
Black Lips – Occidental Front

As the crowd “moshed”, lead singer Cole Alexander appeared like a punk-rock angel coming to earth to prophesy the end of times. Out of all the band, he pretty much stays in place, and becomes a master puppeteer for the raging movements of both the crowd and his fellow musicians. With vocals that makes his voice-box appear like a paper shredder, his notes ripped through the audience and provided a mesmerizing show. Admittedly, I do not turn to garage or punk rock often when I need to pump up adrenaline or desire some form of mental catharsis for the madness of the world. Yet, The Black Lips are so clear in their noise and anarchism that they provide the perfect, sonic outlet for anyone itching to yell, “Screw You World!” , which again we have all wanted to say, at least, once. For More Information On The Black Lips Click Here.
Black Lips – Squatting in Heaven