It’s only intermission and the real show hasn’t even started but I can already tell that I’m in for a fun night. Admittedly, I’m late to the game; I only just found out about Brass Against a few months ago and was instantly blown away. It’s easy to label em as a cover band, but what they do is so much more than that. Up until just about two hours ago, I’d only seen em on Instagram and I’m going to tell you right now, it doesn’t do them justice.
Ask anyone who’s ever toured, it will kick your ass with the quickness. It takes it out of you mentally, physically, and emotionally, so I don’t take it for granted when bands take the time to answer my goofy ass questions. The thirty minutes they spend talking to me, they could be talking to their partners or taking a nap. As par for the course, they were running a few minutes late and in no way am I complaining about this since I got to watch them do their sound check.
Isn’t this the cover band that plays Rage Against the Machine?
Sorta, but not really. The first thing you need to understand is that Brass Against is a collective of musicians and the lineup and set list change on a semi-regular basis. This is why you see different singers in their videos. The other thing is that they’re not playing these songs note-for-note. Brad Hammonds, the guitarist and founder, will take his ideas to Andrew Gutauskas, who takes the foundation and reworks the tune. Guitar solos get turned into blasts from a trumpet and the bass is replaced by tubas in some cases. It’s as weird as it sounds, but it works.
They remind me of a local Richmond collective called “The Oregon Hill Funk All-Stars,” which was around in the late 90s. They were more or less a bunch of the local jazz musicians who would get together every few months and jam out on a bunch of funk tunes. I saw em at least five times and it was never the same line-up but the show was always incredible.
The folks performing in Brass Against are musicians, like, real hardcore musicians, and they know what they’re supposed to sound like live. The good news is that the Ivy Room is one of the best venues around, so it was rather easy for the band to get dialed in. It’s a small place but they put on some of the best shows anywhere in the Bay Area.
One thing I noticed right off the bat is how nice everyone was while talking to the sound guy and everyone else. There was no rockstar attitude at all from anyone in the group. Manners are rare these days and they go a long way. For the record, they sounded amazing.
As you can see, the interview went similar to a first date. It was slightly awkward at first but by the end, they seemed to be having fun and we ended up making plans for me to take em to one of the best Taco Trucks anywhere after the show, so I can only assume things went well.
Several hours later…
I’m sitting on my front porch, my ears are ringing, my ribs are bruised and I can’t stop smiling. Yeah yeah, social media is great and as you can see, I got some killer footage but it doesn’t begin to capture the raw experience. This is a band that you need to see live, up close and personal. You don’t get how intimidating the lead singer Liza is until she’s inches away from you, growling in your face. In person, she’s as sweet as peach pie but on stage, she’s a fucking hurricane. This is one of those acts that feeds off the crowd and once it gets going, it’s hard to stop.
There was a lot of anger and even more hope.
But it was justified. These folks ain’t hiding their politics, their fears or frustrations, yet they’ve been able to harness the intensity into something beautiful that was able to bring a sell-out crowd together on a Thursday night. It was cathartic and healing for the audience, a much-needed emotional release from the tension and never-ending shit storm of the news cycle. It was a reminder that punk takes many forms, but at the core, it’s still about coming together as a community and using our voice to make a difference.
The adrenaline is still running…
How the fuck am I supposed to sleep after a show like this??? They didn’t need a fancy light show or a bunch of balloons (no disrespect to the Flaming Lips), it was 8 people, packed on a tiny ass stage, and they were playing from the gut. It wasn’t faked, they’re not doing this for shock, there’s really no gimmicks, it’s raw and real, the way live music needs to be. It’s this level of authenticity that most bands lack, yet these folks have in abundance.
I promised tacos…
And they were cool enough to let me ride in the van. Sadly, the truck was closed by the time we arrived but the band was very understanding. We said our goodbyes but, I’ll tell you right now, it wasn’t for long. This is one of those bands that I will gladly drive a few hours to see. They deserve the hype; they will blow away your expectations and leave you craving more.