Ponderosa stomp: James Johnson of Wilderness. All photos by Lisa Weiss.
By Michelle Broder Van Dyke
Up above the still of a serene California night, a dry thunderstorm is brewing. Like the tom-heavy drum patterns of Wilderness’ William Goode and the angular guitar lines of Colin McCann, the dry lightning splits from the sky striking down on Earth, igniting wildfires. The blaze destroys in a gradual and shapeless but fierce trail that builds as James Johnson’s howls brew from the bottom of his belly, filling his throat before rising and bursting forth like a clairvoyant issuing forth the voices of the dead, while Brian Gossman sustains the flames with long-held bass notes.
Or at least that's what I imagined as I watched Wilderness perform at Bottom of the Hill on Thursday, Dec. 11. Their distinct post-punk sound builds on echoes that resound throughout the space, stirring the vibrations until trance-like they seep into your pores and take over, completely hypnotizing you. I wouldn’t have been surprised if the audience began speaking in tongues.
James Johnson sang in chant-like roaring yowls, which require such strength that veins pop from his neck. As the set progressed, Johnson’s mouth began enveloping the mic, as if he were sucking his lover’s face on a romantic evening amid the dead debris left in the aftermath of a forest fire. Johnson brought a mesmerizing quality to Wilderness’s sound as he danced with arm motions that seem ritualistically bizarre, searing, and always intriguing.
The frontperson and guitarist-drummer-vocalist McCann played off each other, adding to the drama of their performance as delays and echoes escalated. McCann’s vocals were a nice background element but were whinier than Johnson's and lacked the singer's sparkle.
Reverberating and repetitious racket filled the room, enveloping the audience in a trance until the group broke from its instruments. You could almost imagine, after such a blaze, the first vegetation appearing - small spores of fungus filling the soil with their nutrient-rich roots and readying the forest floor for rebirth.
digg •
del.icio.us •
sphere •
google
•
