Boris: Roaring Silence Revue

It was one of those things I dreamed of. I'm sure I mentioned it to people. More than likely mentioned it to Frat somewhere in Illinois when we hit traffic for the first time on our cross country trip. Needing a little something to keep our minds off the distance we fired up the DFA '79 debut cover to cover and then Rainbow, the classic collaboration that still hasn't been knocked off the top spot for album of the year honors. So somewhere in Illinois. As the sun set and the traffic thinned. One of us might have said..."fuck, that'd be great if Michio joined Boris on their next US tour."

Ask and you shall receive.

    

MP3: Boris - "Hama"
MP3: Boris - "Ibitsu"
MP3: Boris w. Michio Kurihara - "Shine"
MP3: Damon & Naomi - "Beautiful Close Double"
MP3: Damon & Naomi w. Michio Kurihara - "My Flower"

Dates:

Boris / Damon & Naomi
US Tour 2007
Both Bands Play with Michio Kurihara

9.30 Empty Bottle (Chicago, IL)
10.2 First Unitarian Church (Philadelphia, PA)
10.3 Music Hall of Williamsburg (Brooklyn, NY)
10.4 Kelly-Strayhorn Theater (Pittsburgh, PA)
10.5 Wexner Center For The Arts (Columbus, OH)
10.6 Mad Planet (Milwaukee, WI)
10.7 Triple Rock Social Club (Minneapolis, MN)
10.10 The Nightlight (Bellingham, WA)
10.11 Chop Suey (Seattle, WA)
10.12 Dante's (Portland, OR)
10.14 The Independent (San Francisco, CA)
10.15 Echoplex (Los Angeles, CA)
10.16 The Brickhouse (Phoenix, AZ)
10.18 The Ballroom (Marfa, TX)
10.19 Scoot's Inn (Austin, TX)
10.20 The Spanish Moon (Baton Rouge, LA)
10.21 Bottletree (Birmingham, AL)
10.22 The Earl (Atlanta, GA)
10.23 40 Watt (Athens, GA)
10.24 The Cat's Cradle (Carrboro, NC)
10.25 Satellite Ballroom (Charlottesville, VA)
10.26 Black Cat (Washington, DC)
10.27 Bard College Chapel (Annandale-On-Hudson, NY)
10.28 Bowery Ballroom (New York, NY)
10.29 Middle East Downstairs (Cambridge, MA)

Back Catalog: Boris @ Ottobar, 6.4.06
Back Catalog: Boris @ The Orange Peel, 9.8.06

Boris' Rainbow Now Available Stateside

Via Drag City. Drag City released it on May 22nd. I still don't know which is better, Rainbow, The National's Boxer or Dino Jr.'s Beyond. Boris is currently barnstorming through Europe.

Trackmarks: Boris w. Michio Kurihara - "Sweet No. 1" from Rainbow

When the guitars and drums finally clash head-on, flashes of Hendrix virtually flood to the forefront, but Michio Kurihara (formally of White Heaven and Ghost, among others) and Wata don't stick to a particular influence or technique for very long.

At the outset, Michio dominates with an explosive guitar solo borne from a brief muted riff that sets both the tempo and prepares everyone involved for ignition. Wata waits patiently in the wings and then arrives in a flourish, about 1:50 in, sounding at first like a human voice, only to give way to Takeshi's vocals that follow :40 later.

The marriage of each guitar's tonal qualities is breathtaking. When they alternate turns, it is more than a simple hand-off - it is give and take - each one appearing to push further than the other. The solos are blistering, crashing in and careening on like buzzsaws cut loose from their axes. The track is Rainbow's climax, the final explosive vision of a power-packed union of one of hard(er) rock's finest bands and one of the most gifted guitarists on the planet.

The following track on the album, Rainbow's ninth and final cut, titled "...And I Want", simply allows the listener to return calmly to their mortal existence, return to their resting heart-rate. If listeners knows what's good for them, they start the cycle over, close their eyes and allow the aural hurricane of Rainobow to lift them once more towards the "Sweet No. 1" apex and out of the throes of all that is ordinary.

MP3: Boris w. Michio Kurihara - "Sweet No. 1"

 

Boris plays four times at SxSW:

3.15 (Thursday)
Stubbs BBQ
w/ Melvins, Pelican and The Panthers

3.16 (Friday)
Vice Party
w/ Earthless, Big Business, Fucked Up, CPC Gangbangs, Black Lips, Annihilation Time, Against Me! and more

3.16 (Friday)
Spiro's Eclipse SxSW Show
w/ Zoroaster, Noxagt, Mark D (sunno)))/Ex-Melvins) Super Sonic Festival Projections & special guest!

3.17 (Saturday)
SxSW Presents
Mastodon & Boris at the Town River Lake