Concert Review: The Preoccupations Are Dark-Art Punk At Rough Trade
Similar to The Afghan Whigs, Preoccupations build a dark, concert atmosphere that enthralls its crowd. Yet, The Preoccupations might be one of the few bands I have ever seen to make their intended plays of emo-grimness feel more potent through performance. Their new album, New Material, felt amplified in its emotional-grimness.
With dim lighting, Rough Trade’s warehouse setting transformed into a hovel; where tracks like, “Silhouette”, “Anxiety”, “Decompose”, and “Disarray” caved everyone in with their strung and sung stresses. It was strange to see a crowd of people casually drink their beers as someone riled up their miseries through melodies. It was a show that was not about head-bashing or moshing, which usually occurs when hearing some post/noise-punk. Yet, Preoccupations also consider themselves art-punk, infusing “discord” with enough electricity to lighten you up, hich explains why the audience absorbed them like art.
From their music to their movements, Preoccupations’ performance feels like a film short, except every image in coming from you. All you have to do is watch as Matt Flegel rolls his vocals through songs “Zodiac” and “Solace” like dough. There is a leavened quality to his voice that makes it both moldable and filling like, paint that can fit into any lined figure but dominates with its color. For being the voice of frustration, he cooly delivered his notes and scoped his set with a brisk ease. Once gain,I felt thrown and fascinated by the dynamic. Here they were, Preoccupations, summoning “darks arts” like they were taking a pizza order.
When I saw The Afghan Whigs, whom sing to similar individual isolations, I saw a crowd shake their heads and bodies like mad puppets. Meanwhile, Preoccupations were quietly absorbed like a theatre piece. It stayed in my mind as a lesson that different genres in rock may sing to the same palpable, core angst of humanity, but they demand differing levels of observance. For More Information On Preoccupations Click Here.
