The time on the tickets read 8:30pm. This usually means the doors open at 8:30. Not for The Mars Volta. As we walked into the Electric Factory in Philly, Cedric Bixler-Zavala was already wailing into his trademark white condenser microphone and writhing around the stage. The house was already packed as we made our way to the upstairs bar area. I had not read much about the tour and was not surprised by the lack of an opening band. I just assumed that there would be one. The Mars Volta live show is like clockwork. Show starts at 8:30pm and not one minute later.
My only concern leading up to the gig came from their opening set with System of A Down at the Wachovia Center, also in Philly. Of course, opening bands are usually not given the ability to manipulate the sound board to perfection. As a result, the wall of noise that emanated from that 2005 set was disappointing. I gave them a pass because nearly impossible to sound good in a stadium, unless, of course, your name is Trent Reznor. I skipped the band’s last tour in support of the epic record Amputecture, for just that reason. They opened up for the Red Hot Chili Peppers on that tour, and I had no interest to see Volta in a stadium show again. However, when I heard that The Mars Volta was playing a club tour, I was excited to see them as the headliner.
After grabbing a $5 Yuengling, we decided to stay upstairs since I was with the gimp. Fifteen minutes later, the band had not yet finished their first song. While the sound was much better than my experiences in the arena, some elements of their complicated arrangements were just lost. Omar Rodriguez-Lopez’s relentless tidal wave of guitar is deservedly high in the mix, and the drums in front of the new 24-year old drummer, Thomas Pridgen, were pounded to flawless precision. At times, even Pridgen became the spotlight in the 15-minute-plus jams, and added a new complexity to the Volta rhythm section. Bixler-Zavala’s vocals sounded sharp, but low at times, beneath the mix-heavy drums and guitar. With the exception of Juan Alderete’s bass lines, the other four musicians were completely drowned out.
The Mars Volta are a great studio band and amazing song writers, but their music does not translate well when mixed live. Although their performance of ‘Tetragrammaton’ on the Henry Rollins Show was one of the best I have ever seen, so much is lost when you open that sound to a club environment.
The energetic set was two hours long. At 10:30pm the house lights came on, and it was over. The audience started clapping and yelling for an encore, confused by the lights. Even as fans were walking out the front door, many peered back, hoping that the band might come back. However, two hours is longer than most bands’ live sets.
Overall, there were moments where my mind drifted off. For instance, somewhere around the 13th minute of ‘Cavalettas,’ the band was jamming over a very simple riff that quickly became repetitive after minute 19. This happened about three times throughout the set. I appreciate the talents of the performers, but three jams over fifteen minutes is excessive. The Grateful Dead could get away with 40-minute james because their fans were acid zombies, and the music was secondary. To their credit, The Mars Volta sets are unapologetic, and the sophisticated songwriting is astounding. To their detriment, the music is just too complex for most venues to handle. Perhaps they would sound better at a concert hall like The Met or Sydney Opera House. I don’t see that happening any time soon. With that being said, The Mars Volta continue to be one of my favorites. I look forward to their next masterpiece, just not the accompanying tour.
