Avey Tare’s Slasher Flicks hit the sold out Bowery Ballroom on 4-21-14 with supporting act Dustin Wong.
The line to get in the doors was long well before they opened as the mostly younger crowd was eager to get close to the action. When the doors opened there was a mad rush to the front of the stage which is not a normal thing at the Bowery. As everyone settled into their spots it became obvious that this was going to be a different kind of night as instead of the regular house music, there was a live DJ spinning trippy records in the balcony. Appropriately, the stage was adorned with multiple large white skulls, which later on would provide a backdrop for spastic colors and minimal imagery.
Dustin Wong opened up the night with a guitar, looping pedals and many affects to create a bevy of sonic sounding, trippy, multiple layered tunes. You can’t put this master craftsman and his tunes into any one category, but it was a real treat watching him perform his well honed craft.
Once the lights went out to start Slasher Flicks, they stayed out, leaving a nearly pitch black stage for the duration. The only light was in the form of small projections which bounced of the skulls onstage, the mood was fitting for the tunes that followed.
There would be no ballads for Jason Voorhees nor a catchy number about Leatherface but the music definitely had a horror “feel” to it, as many songs would be well served in a horror movie soundtrack.
Drummer Jeremy Hyman (formerly of “ponytail”), was definitely the engine of the group, providing deep and pounding grooves in which keyboardist Angel Deradoorian layered bass lines and terrific creepy synth grooves while Avey Tare threw shredding and rhythmic guitar on top of it all.
The musical range of the group was on full display, hammering out fast paced tribal rhythms as well as odd timed psych dancing grooves which had most attendees bouncing around the whole night.
Slasher Flicks is presently on tour and you can hear their debut album, “Enter The Slasher House” above.
Article and photos by Shayne Hanley
