BLACK HEART PROCESSION + ALL SCARS
London Highbury Garage 28th November 2000

It's fair to say that All Scars aren't too well known, and very few people in the crowd seem to realise that this is the side project of the Canty brothers - Brendan and James - also of Fugazi and Make Up fame. All Scars is clearly a break from those bands, as they seem more interested in a jazz-skronk-improv thing. The best bits evoke the Make Up's flights of fancy, but most of it suggests a post-hardcore Albert Ayler. Unsurprisingly, that's not to everyone's taste.
Black Heart Procession make a welcome return to this venue, after their low-key support slot with Blonde Redhead in the summer. Still pitched somewhere between the downbeat side of Giant Sand/ Calexico and Tom Waits, tonight's show is a big improvement - they've gained a member, and they play a lot of their very best songs - the epic 'A Light So Dim' is played early on, and most of the material comes from their very fine second album ('Blue Tears', etc). The singer cuts a bizarre figure with his black clothes, bushy beard, headband and 'blankety-blank' style microphone, but his powerful voice raises the waltz/ alt.country to something quite special. For everyone who is alienated by the bleakness of a lot of this material, there's someone else in the crowd who is hanging on every word. A taste worth acquiring.
|Slow Thrills News Index| |Slow Thrills Gigs Index|