Photo Review: Vampyre, Bloody Knives and More at Spider House Ballroom

MorganNovember 20, 2015

You guys fucking blew it. While you were off doing whatever passes for your Wednesday, we had a bill absolutely stacked with phenomenal talent going down at Spider House. Critical Dad started the night out with their trashy glam punk, supposedly their last set of the year as they retreat to their practice space to rehearse new material and eventually record a follow-up EP with Ian Rundell. Pleasure Venom followed them with a ferocious set of No Wave mutant disco, all knife sharp hip thrusts and furious yelps. And then Vampyre murdered the stage, proving themselves to be perhaps the band to watch out for in 2016, their sound a mixture of DFA 1979 swagger and Jesus Lizard insanity. The grimy shoegaze of Bloody Knives closed the night out, and though the typical Austin problem of people having more interest in smoking on the patio than enjoying the bands they paid cover to see was in effect, they put on an excellent show, proving that while so many of their shoegaze peers are only capable of mining a couple stray My Bloody Valentine singles for inspiration, they’re on to some other, much more dynamic wall of sound. When all of these bands are getting profiled in whatever replaces Pitchfork once Conde Nast sucks the marrow from its bones, we’re just going to be standing over here, saying we told you so. – Nick Hanover