Comets on Fire/Kinski

Kinski was as powerful live as I'd hoped they might be. There was less development in the songs than on the record I'm most familiar with, Airs Above Your Station, but more brute force.

Comets on Fire's music was a little more scattered and freeform than I'm used to. They certainly didn't adhere to any sort of verse/chorus structures most of the time and even the playing was much more free than the riffing or melody-based stuff most bands play live. I felt a little disoriented, especially at the beginning, but the lack of traditional structure allowed for unfettered, joyfully explosive grooves (jamming?) that distinguished most of their songs. It wasn't exactly a heavier version of Phish or anything, although you could hear the Grateful Dead influence. The instruments and vocals sounded kind of like Deep Purple or Black Sabbath, but the end result was wilder and more ferocious. I've rarely seen musicians so elated to be playing (especially guitarists Ethan Miller and Ben Chasny) or so effectively communicating that to the audience through their instruments. Exciting stuff.