MUSIC: Rice Cakes Kicks Off Tour at AS220
Monday, September 03, 2012
One constant theme that was present on the hallowed stage at AS220 this past Saturday were women that know how to rock and kick major ass with fantastic music. The Rice Cakes were kicking off their 6th tour at the famous art & music collaborative space on 115 Empire Street in downtown Providence with magnificent opening acts consisting of the badass all-girl power trio Whore Paint and Rochester, NY's Velvet Elvis.
Whore Paint
Whore Paint started off the night with thunderous, noisy and simply amazing tunes featuring Hillary Jones on a snarling guitar, Meredith Stern's seismic display on the drums and the sultry, cryptic voice of vocalist Rebecca Mitchell. With Rebecca making a few comical mentions of the S & M novel Fifty Shades of Grey, even having the audience decide on whether to hear a song or a reading from the book, Whore Paint's riff-filled, raw, intense brand of no wave noise rock left fans in awe and astonishment at the stage presence these three women possess when they play. It's always awesome when the first opening act blows you away with furiously loud rhythms and chords, and Whore Paint definitely gave the audience a good reason to show up early.
Velvet Elvis
Next up was Velvet Elvis from Rochester, NY, a groovy, sludgy metal band that sounded like The Melvins and Baroness but with vocalist Karrah Teague sounding like a mix of Joan Jett and a lady screaming bloody murder. Excellent guitar playing from Brendan Henahan and Randall Von Rochester electrified the audience and had fans headbanging, putting up devil horns and going absolutely crazy. The sheer amplification of their set left an impression on me, I could actually feel the vibrations from every riff, bass lick and drumbeat. It felt like getting a musical massage and finishing up the 3rd round of a boxing match against a 800 pound gorilla. It was spectacular music from a band that I'd love to see around Providence again.
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The Rice Cakes, one of the best and most vital bands to come out of The Creative Capital in the past 5 years, were getting ready to go on stage to bring the night to a close with their epic style of indie-pop that's is so infectious you won't be able to stop your self from cutting a rug on the dance floor right when you hear Roz Raskin's amazing voice and her first note on the keys. Rounding out the trio are Justin Foster on bass and the greatest drummer since the likes of Keith Moon and Buddy Rich, Casey Belisle.
Starting off their set with "Zabudabudee", The Rice Cakes had the audience immediately cheering and dancing, and it was a great sight to behold. Foster and Raskin then switched it up with Foster on a jet black acoustic guitar and Raskin on bass to play the anti-folk hit "Yellow Fields", and people started dancing some more. The rest of The Rice Cakes' set included a dirty, progressive version of "Like Ass", "Magma", "Humans" and a new song titled "Floor Boards". Afterwards, nobody was going anywhere and the crowd wanted more, so The Rice Cakes delivered with a rare double encore of "Hate" and "Boys & Girls". The next Rice Cakes show will be at Rocktucket in downtown Pawtucket as part of the Pawtucket Arts Festival on September 15th and then they'll be going on a little 8-date tour of Vermont, New York, North & South Carolina and Virginia. Next time your favorite band is playing at AS220 or if you're just looking to get involved, log on to AS220.org for everything you need to know.
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