When today’s music fans make the effort to catch their
favorite band live, they often expect a rendition, if not an exact
duplication, of the group’s latest album. Sometimes pulling
off live what was done in the studio is tricky enough to fulfill
the crowd’s eager expectations.
But The Mars Volta boldly defied these conventions, shaking the
audience this past Thursday at The Wiltern. Having toured with A
Perfect Circle for several concerts this year, The Mars Volta
summoned up the courage for a solo show.
With the members’ tight bell bottoms, bushy Afros and
ornamented long-sleeved shirts, they looked like a reincarnation of
the generic “˜70s rock band. A mere glimpse into their sound
offered a preview of unexpected sensations.
The band opened with the famous “Roulette Dares (The Haunt
Of)” giving the audience the impression that the show would
continue with rigid adherence to their material.
Former At the Drive-In members Cedric Bixler Zavala (vocals) and
Omar Rodriguez Lopez (guitar) surely had more than the standard
rock show in mind. Reaching out into a series of unexpected
high-strung improvisations, incomprehensive rhythmic alterations
and mind-numbing sound effects reminiscent of the
psychedelia-influenced acid rock era, the band delivered an
original sound. Their combination of Pink Floyd’s progressive
experimentalism with Led Zeppelin’s unfaltering acidic
performance drive infuses the current indie-rock spirit with
psycho-ambient energy.
Loaded with streaming guitar and bass solos and Zavala’s
incredibly stretched octave range and streaming vocals, the band
also utilized a multitude of synthesizers and guitar pedals bearing
sounds alien to the human ear. The undeniable energy of the
band’s sound was eloquently paired with Zavala’s
histrionic movements, making for an unforgettable performance.
Jolting all over the stage with his spider-like legs, he kicked and
twitched in incessant jerking activity.
The band drifted in and out of familiar verses of well-known
songs, offering no apology for half-hour abstract improvisations
which chilled the audience, filling them with utter awe for the
entire two-and-a-half hour set.
-Taleen Kalenderian