TesseracT / The Contortionist / Nordic Giants [Live Review – The Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth, 11/2/2016]
When you walk into a venue using The Algorithm’s OCTOPUS4 as a pre-show auditory appetizer, you know it’s going to be an intense night.
Nordic Giants (93%) became new TMMP favourites by the end of a stunningly (and literally) cinematic set. Watching a multi-tasking duo soundtrack a series of masterfully crafted videos in real time is not some throwaway experience that those present last night are likely to forget any time soon. Nordic Giants are nothing less than awe-inspiring.
If you haven’t seen Nordic Giants live yet, you need to fix that ASAP. Expect moon prisons, robot soldiers, imploding sand-faces, surreal anime-inspired animation, and music that perfectly mirrors the complete cognitive overwhelm induced by Nordic Giants’ videography. If reality had a Repeat button, I’d have pushed it at the end of this set.
With audience brain fatigue already setting in following constant bombardment from Rémi Gallego and Nordic Giants, The Contortionist (95%) found themselves occupying the always-awkward main support slot. Many bands struggle in the face of an audience growing hungrier and hungrier for the headliners, but these guys won the whole room over. Respect.
Although my inner musical trainspotter picked out influences as diverse as Deftones, Between The Buried And Me, Periphery, Animals As Leaders, Incubus, and even Joe Satriani, it soon shut down when I realised that The Contortionist’s music is far, far more than the sum of its parts. I was absolutely blown away by the end of this set; not only does the list above contain some of my favourite bands, but The Contortionist do what truly great bands do. They take the familiar, and mutate it into an entirely new beast.
Truly incredible gigs, overflowing with greatness from start to finish, are extremely rare. This was one of those nights.
TesseracT (98%) have it all nailed down. These guys are a band of musical Terminators, boasting terrifying tightness and a setlist crammed with fan favourites old (Parts 1 to 3 of Concealing Fate; April; Proxy, Retrospect, Resist, Nocturne, and Exile from Altered State) and new (Dystopia, Hexes, Survival, Phoenix, and Messenger from Polaris, listed as one of TMMP’s Top Albums Of 2015 for many a good reason). Throw in an impactful yet minimalist light show, a handful of well-timed breathers, and Dan Tompkins – a frontman on fire at the Wedgewood Rooms, dealing out one of the best vocal performances I’ve ever seen – and you have an enviable total package.
By the time TesseracT left the stage; the Wedgewood Rooms had instantly turned into a ‘70s disco club complete with mirror ball and Night Fever blasting over the PA; and the post-gig decompression had begun, there was no doubt in my mind that every single punter was leaving happy, exhausted, and satisfied.
Immense.
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