New York City has been getting its fair share of post-rock/post-metal/industrial shows lately, such as Godflesh at the Warsaw in Brooklyn, Caspian at Rough Trade in Brooklyn, Explosions In The Sky at Madison Square Garden, etc. This week, we saw three (yes, 3) consecutive Godspeed You! Black Emperor shows, one in Manhattan, two in Brooklyn. We at Heavy Blog were fortunate to have been able to cover one of the shows at Music Hall Of Williamsburg. Opening the show was singer/songwriter Samara Lubelski. Although her music is kind of minimalistic and stays on the same path, her music is interesting. Especially when she concluded her set with making noise with a violin plus distortion and other effect pedals. And finally, post-rock kings Godspeed You! Black Emperor takes the big yet cramped stage. For the next 2 hours, everyone was just in a trance that GY!BE delivered, with help from their 16mm projections in the background. No words can describe a GY!BE show properly, as it’s just a “you have to be there to understand” kind of deal. They even played all 41 minutes of their new album ‘Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress’ at the beginning of their set. Although the string of NYC shows is the last of the US shows, it is highly recommended that anyone and everyone catch them on their European tour coming up, and whenever they come back to the states, simply because their shows are almost like religious experiences that people who don’t even like post-rock and drone need to witness. Check out the photos below!
Samara Lubelski
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
For more from this photographer, visit Mark Valentino Photography on Flickr.
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