The Cush At ArtsRiot November 7, 2014
Words by Tim Lewis.
I just got back from seeing some great music at ArtsRiot. It’s a bit of a longer walk than usual down to Pine street, so I caught a ride from one of the roommates, Mike Luoma, and just after nine, we headed to the show. We got there a bit late and Paper Castles were tearing down the last of their gear. I hung out for a bit and ran into Sean Altrui and Caroline Marie, and moments later was joined by Peg Tassey. We chatted for a bit, but soon it was time for the show.
They opened with a rocking sprawling new song then reached back to the first album for A New Kind Of Blue. Some sound difficulties reduced the power a bit but they fought their way through. As the set unfolded, almost everything was new. Gabrielle Douglas and Burette Douglas were joined by Jake Brennan from Violette Ultraviolet on guitar and Steve Hadeka on drums. The powerhouse band combined with the brick walls of ArtsRiot, gave them a pretty heavy rocking sound, and each song was its own unique journey. Somewhere in the middle of the set, they took a step back to the second album and unleashed a powerfully beautiful version of Small Town Movie. The full crowd ate it up note for note. From that moment on the show stepped up to a higher level. The string of new songs just started sounding better and better. Some had a hazy psychedelic groove. Some had a nice build. Some just rocked out. Late in the set they reached back to the third album and pulled out a killer I Shout Love At The Heart Of The Atom and they used it to rock us hard! They said thank you and called it a night but the audience wasn’t even close to being done. Gabby and Burette came up for a quiet new song that was just gorgeous. Instead of stopping there, they brought Steve and Jake back to the stage and played one of the most intense versions of the Drone that I have ever seen, and that’s saying a lot. They started slow and brought it a long way up in the first section. The rocked at that level then brought it up again to dizzying heights. From there they let it fall into the closing section where it gently faded out. Just before it ended the brought it back and built it up higher and higher before that wave just had to crash, and they let it fall away.
it was such a challenge to hear so much new music, but that is one of their strengths. They keep writing great new songs and playing them, and anyone lucky enough to hear them can end up a very happy person.
This post was originally published by Tim Lewis at his personal blog, https://timstriangletribune.wordpress.com.