 It's
an inferno in here, and Sound Team is hosting – and playing – another of its
benefits to pay the rent at Big Orange, their self-made studio/practice space
off East Fourth. There's only one problem: The old record-pressing plant isn't
air-conditioned and has become a giant, stinking sauna. Following the pounding
beats of A Tiger Named Lovesick, the party pours into the humidor to watch
Austin's anarchist sons, Trail of Dead, rock a new lineup and a batch of tracks
off their recently completed Mike McCarthy-produced LP, set for a late-September
release. "If we're gonna play this shit, we really need to be fucked
up," Conrad Keely warns before introducing new bassist Danny Wood of the
Rise and fellow drummer/Nashville native Donnie Schroeder.
The intro of
new track "Will You Smile Again" shakes the cinder-block walls with a
fury expected from TOD, demanding the attention of those too smart to step into
the above-100-degree garage. A slower, immediate romp shaped by the double-drum
assault, "Smile" epitomizes the new material: clean, a bit poppy, and
begging for a sing-along, miles away from the chaotic mess for which TOD is
known. After a second new rocker, the local now fivepiece launches into
HBO-favorite "Relative Ways" as the room gyrates and thrashes like
15-year-olds at a Minor Threat show. A Mohawked Jason Reece's newbie
"Caterwaul" follows shortly after, pumping fists and screaming like
Ian MacKaye circa 1982. Just when the scales begin tipping in Clear Channel's
direction with the crisper and tighter TOD, Reece scolds the crowd with an
expletive-riddled diatribe hardcore fans know and love.
"Richter
Scale Madness" courses through the veins of the moshing,
testosterone-driven men surrounding the facing drum kits as they wait for
destruction. The band that now headlines festivals and fills arenas (Note:
I don't think we're there yet) is more at home in this sweaty, Lone Star garage
surrounded by friends and fans that have been there since the duo days. This is
punk rock. "Kill, kill, kill!"
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