A Place To Bury Strangers – Kings Arms (Concert Review)

Notoriously-loud Brooklyn-based trio A Place To Bury Strangers shook up Auckland’s Kings Arms with a mind bending set heavy on distortion and feedback…and fog.

Monday night at the Kings Arms and the faithful have shown up early, eager to catch opening act, Thee Run Coves. The local rockers didn’t disappoint, getting the crowd worked up with their own brand of garage rock.

After a brief intermission, the lights came down and the dark stage filled with white fog as the three members of A Place To Bury Strangers took the stage. They are Oliver Ackermann (guitar & vocals), Robi Gonzalez (drums) and former D4 guitarist Dion Lunadon (bass). If you didn’t see Robi when he arrived on stage, chances are you won’t see him all night as he was obscured by the heavy fog the band had infused the stage with. The fog, along with the lighting left Oliver and Dion in constant silhouette, making for a visually striking show.  Kudos to13^th Floor photographer Isaac Newcombe who prevailed under less than ideal conditions, turning in some stunning photos when some fellow snappers gave up and walked away.

The trio began with a furious version of We’ve Come So Far, from their latest album, Transfixiation. The tune served as a jumping off point for the band who segued into a reverb and feedback drenched instrumental that eventually morphed into You Are The One and then into Mind Control, both from their 2012 album, Worship.

But this really wasn’t about “songs”, instead it was an atmosphere. Gonzalez’s metronomic timekeeping gave off a Krautrock vibe while Oliver and Dion brought the noise.

Yes, they were loud, but not too loud. Sure it was difficult to hear Oliver’s vocals over the squall of the band, but he got his emotions across in his playing and in his mournful howling that came near the end of the show during I Lived My Life To Stand In The Shadow Of Your Heart.

Ackermann also managed to hang his guitar from the ceiling of the King Arms while still creating a swirling wash of sound.

It was a relatively short set…just over an hour, but it felt longer. I don’t mean that in a bad way…it’s just that the band took us on such a sonic trip that I felt like I had been transported somewhere alien and then brought back down to earth when the band abruptly stopped playing.

It’s easy to find bands to compare them to….Jesus And Mary Chain, Joy Division, Can, Bauhaus….but really, A Place To Bury Strangers create a totally unique concert experience.

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Isaac Newcombe: