Autolux @ Johnny Brenda’s
Autolux’s Future Perfect may be my favorite album of the decade, so I’ve been looking forward to seeing them live for quite some time. The band opened for Nine Inch Nails a few years back, but we caught Queens of the Stone Age as the opener for the NIN shows we attended during that tour. This time around Autolux was headlining their own small clubs tour, so we hit up 2008′s favorite venue, Johnny Brenda’s. Brenda’s is unique in that bands usually hang out by the bar before shows. This was no exception as we enjoyed a few of Philly’s best microbrews next to Greg Edwards. Although Edwards is the creative genius behind Autolux, he is better known for his tenure in the criminally underrated 90s band Failure. If you don’t know Failure, check out their 1996 magnum opus Fantastic Planet. Edwards was also in Lusk, an even more obscure and underrated project with Guns N’ Roses keyboardist Chris Pitman and ex-Tool bassist Paul D’Amour. Check out 1997′s Free Mars here. Edwards is no longer a contributing player as he was with Failure and Lusk. His mountain of guitar pedals is front and center in Autolux.
Autolux took the stage after two opening acts, Mini Mansions and Sleepy Sun. They played a setlist that included an even balance between songs from their critically acclaimed first album, which was released on the filmmaking Coen Brother’s DMZ label, and the yet-to-be-released Transit, Transit. Although the band tore through the sonic soundscapes of their set, the sound at Brenda’s couldn’t seem to handle the complexity of Edward’s distorted guitar feedback. A drowned out mix made the vocals of bassist Eugene Goreshter nearly inaudible. Although Edward’s guitars are what make Autolux go, Goreshter’s vocals juxtapose perfectly against the reverbed chaos. Drummer Carla Azar was actually the highlight of the night, as she pounded her skins perfectly on percussion-heavy tracks “Turnstile Blues” and “Robots in the Garden.” Highlights of the night included Future Perfect centerpieces “Blanket” and “Capital Kind of Strain.” “Great Days For The Passenger Element” was suspiciously absent from the setlist. While the four new songs the band played didn’t instantly impress the crowd of 200, they played an unknown Transit, Transit track as a encore. It was an epic and highly distorted composition that fit well within the band’s catalog.
Autolux supposedly finished their follow-up effort two years ago and have been dealing with relationship nightmares on the business side. Once advertised to be released in Fall of 2008, Transit, Transit is now set for a January 2010 date. I’m not sure if we can count on that, especially since the band remains unsigned with a future that doesn’t seem so perfect.
Setlist:
