Review: Hippie Death Cult ‘Live At The Star Theater’
I was trying to explain the exhilaration I get from seeing live music recently. The majority of the time, I refuse to listen to things on shuffle so I can get the full picture of the artistic vision a band was trying to paint with the studio album.
However, sometimes that raw, unadulterated live experience of watching a band throw all their passion into delivering songs that have come to mean something to you is, for the non-religious me, the closest feeling of what it must be like to know the divine.
Hyperbolic nonsense aside, live music shows that a band can deliver and isn’t just flashy studio voodoo. Some of my favourite versions of tracks are on live records, mistakes, voices cracking with passion, feedback and raw, in-your-face energy. Portland’s gritty and trippy heavy rock trio Hippie Death Cult have thrown their hat in the ring this year with Live At The Star Theatre, the last night of their 2024 tour supporting their latest album Helichrysum.
My colleague Liam covered their history comprehensively in his review of the album, so without retreading too much ground, this feels like HDC have decided to capture this moment and celebrate the triumph over a turbulent time in the band’s history. This followed the departure of drummer Ryan Moore (replaced by Harry Silvers) and singer Ben Jackson, which led bassist Laura Phillips to step up to the mic.
Having had seen them bring their raw, raucous, riff based, psychedelic rock to a boiling hot Black Heart at this year’s Desertfest London, I jumped at the chance to throw words of praise towards their live debut, and what better example could they deliver this snapshot but in front of their passionate home town crowd?
The setlist is not dissimilar, with four of the tracks coming unsurprisingly from their last album as the best representation of HDC’s modern era, but climaxing with the massive rendition of Circle Of Days from the 2021 album of the same name.
Starting with a recorded sample from philosophical entertainer Alan Watts Contemplative Ritual critique, the bounding riffing of Arise comes into focus.
Deliciously fuzzy and murky, the lumbering bounce of Eddie Brnabic’s sawing chops are bolstered by the low end of Phillipsand the vibrant smash of Silvers, who does enough not to clutter the sound, but adds dazzling flashes of skill. Phillips’voice soars over the proceeding with the power of a Hammer Horror vixen, commanding, sultry and at times downright terrifying when she drops into full throated screams; The band sounds bullish, confident with a point to prove from the get go.
Brnabic shreds the solos, Silvers whales on the kit with unabashed force and Phillips is the eye of the storm…
Pausing to re-educate the crowd in live music etiquette, it is clear the band are having fun as they power into Toxic Annihilator. Over thundering drumming and thrash influenced riffing, Phillipschannels her best Tom Araya one moment and histrionic high notes the next, spitting venom amidst a ferocious rendition of the Helichrysum track. Whilst Hippie Death Cult are great on record, they really come alive in the 500 capacity venue when you can feel the sweat dripping off the walls and imagine the band up close and personal with the partisan crowd.
After a false stop, Brnabic and Silvers get to show off their skills with a dexterous instrumental section that flashes by with intense soloing and clattering drums. Having witnessed this live and in person not so long ago, it was a timely reminder that the three piece deserve a lot of credit for their musicianship.
Bringing the pace down to a hazy, retro jam-like Shadows, the music shimmers with a cool Tarantino-resurrecting-old-rock-and-roll vibe. Over the pulsing sway, Phillips croons in her powerful, low tones, soft and yet somehow full of danger when she opens up and flies over the moody atmosphere. It gives the proceeding a sense of hypnotic ritual that grows with passion as her voice strains under the articulation.
In their press release, the band stated that it was captured warts and all saying, ‘It’s raw. It’s live. It’s us.’It is this honesty that makes you fall in love with recordings like this, and even as they end the song with Phillips saying they never had Silvers’ kit fall over before, it didn’t knock them off their stride once.
Getting back on track with the smoldering Red Giant, its creeping intro firing up the crowd, the soft ‘Ooooohs’ lead to the jerking, scything main refrain as the band tear into a higher gear. Heavy and pummelling, Hippie Death Cultcreate a danceable soup that mixes that ‘70s blues rock command with eighties thrash, like Joan Jett fronting Slayer. Once again Brnabic shreds the solos, Silvers whales on the kit with unabashed force and Phillips is the eye of the storm, soothing and raging often within moments on a track that was made for igniting pit-based violence.
Bringing the album to a close with the naked Sabbath worship and epic length Circle Of Days that features a winding, guitar heavy intro that burns with a plodding rhythm section and moody vocal delivery, pulling the focus and bristles with a prime occult feel. The slow burning number is awash with psychedelic swagger and feels all the more vibrant when delivered by this line up.
As they drag towards the loose and open middle section, Phillips introduces the band members, before the burn of the guitar solo noodles off into an intense freak out and false stop. Bringing back the funk, the band charge for the finish line as they go all out to close the show on a high note that has the baying crowd erupting into cheers at the end.
A fitting, ass kicking celebration.
Label: Heavy Psych Sounds
Band Links: Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Mark Hunt-Bryden
