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Live Review: Dredg

Posted 06/07/2009 08:04PM by Aaron Yarborough as Show Review

06/07/2009 08:04PM

I don't feel one truly appreciates Dredg until they see them live. There is so much energy and inspiration in the room, it's quite easy to be brought to tears by the spectacle. I arrived at the Glasshouse in Pomona, CA with plenty of time to see both openers, Judgement Day & Torche, and the silence before Dredg's set was welcome after the bombardment of noise from Torche. The musical contrast was stark, and in a room not as full as I expected, Dredg came on stage with an applause by an audience whose lives have presumably been changed by the band. Magic happens when Mark, Drew, Dino, and Gavin all pick up their instruments. Sparkling melodic guitars, riveted to the hypnotic, punchy, and precise drums by perfectly supplemental melodic basslines...then the vocals...and it all comes together, and it finally hits me that I'm seeing Dredg...

Artwork for their upcoming album scattered to the walls, and the familiar tapestry-laden slide guitar table for Gavin, graced the stage. Dino's drums were on a platform, setting him above the rest...as if he needed the altitude for that. Watching Dino drum is like nothing else. He is built for rhythm, and it is clear by his every motion that his heartbeat is garnished with fills. Accompanied by Drew on the bass (and the bass-synth on a couple new tracks), the two fed off of each other, and in keeping with their theme of "absence/presence" from their last release, Catch Without Arms, syncopated their individual rhythms to create an immense intertwined foundation upon which Mark lay his rapidly-strummed high-note passages and reverb-heavy melodies. Gavin, through clenched teeth, sang about love...and we all cared.

All in all, the musical delivery was just what one would expect from the band. Starting off an unfamiliar short intro, then starting right in with "Same 'lo Road", the show progressed with a fairly traditional set list for those who have seen them before which, of course, ended by Gavin's destruction of the slide guitar via drumstick in "The Canyon Behind Her". They played several new songs, including "Ireland" and "Information", and sadly omitted the highly requested "Sanzen" much to the crowd's dismay. The two brothers from Judgement Day accompanied the band for a handful of songs, adding a stringed instrument element to the sound. This was incredible, and I wouldn't be surprised to see further artistic collaboration in the future. Despite the relatively predictable set, the sound was near perfection, and again, my love for the band was reignited.

-Michael Franklin