Ones Who Retaliate- Dredg LIVE @ Velvet Jones 8/29/09

Saturday night in Santa Barbara the Dredg took the stage at a tiny venue called the Velvet Jones. The Dredg is currently on tour to support their new album, The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion (which is a GREAT album). I am a big fan of this band, so this post may be a little bias, but who the fuck cares it my meaty review.

This is actually a rescheduled show, they were originally supposed to play earlier this year, but the Jesusita Fire scorched the Santa Barbara area, did millions of dollars in damage, and postponed the show until the 8/29/09. Despite hell on earth arising, the delay was worth the wait. It must be noted that there were 2 opening acts, As Tall as Lions and the Rx Bandits. The Rx Bandits are switching off with the Dredg on closing shows, luckily the Dredg decided to close this one.

This would be the 3rd time seeing the Dredg, so I already knew what I was getting into, sort of. 1st off the Dredg are true artists on all fronts. The bassist does all the artwork for the Dredg, it is truly bugged out, in fact I got a super limited print, it was $10, if I get a chance I will post the print.

The Dredg took the stage at around 11pm and played till about 12.30, with no encore, just the way I like it. They played a great mix of old and new material, classic Dredg tracks like Ode to the Sun, catch Without Arms, Bug Eyes, and Zebraskin meshed with their new material like Pariah, R.U.O.K., Savior, Information, Gathering Pebbles and I Don’t Know. I could go through every song they played, but this isn’t a set list this is a review. Their sound was aggressive as all hell, during the 1st song the drummer as well as the bassist looked irritated and after the song was over the drummer, who looked super pissed, left his kit and walked right up to the bassists microphone and started shouting at the sound guy to adjust the bass level as well as other levels, FUCK YES!!!! I love it when people in the band take charge of their own sound in a robust fashion, it shows that they care about doing an EPIC show, no matter where they are or how small the venue is. The lead singer also took some jabs at the crowd, telling them “we don’t take requests, this is a concert, not a fucking wedding” I couldn’t agree more. But like I stated earlier, the set list could have been greatest hits record.

They mostly did aggressive, fast, and loud tracks, and very rarely went into their more melodic subtle material. In between songs they did some cool audio filler, with recordings of various people speaking sped up or slowed down, ambient noises, and random sounds.

These dudes are talented, for example the drummer plays the drums and piano AT THE SAME FUCKING TIME!!!!!! I have been to many a show and have yet to see that be replicated, LIVE. The bassist is also operating multiple drum machines, sound boxes, pedals, and a starship controller to invade your mind in real time.

The show ended in traditional Dredg fashion, where their roadie started tearing down their equipment during their last song, the individuals of the Dredg left the stage once all of their instruments are haled off stage. And as stated earlier, no Encore. Final verdict, if you want to see a band that has a couple of records under their belt, push creativity, art, and play epic live shows than the Dredg is for you.

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