Complying with the short and sweet set limitations of a music festival like Monolith, Cymbals Eat Guitars came in like a lion and left the room torn and shattered. In between the emphatic and frenetic vocals and instrumentation on tracks such as the popular “And The Hazy Sea,” (from Why There Are Mountains, Sister’s Den, 2009) were interludes of beauty and finesse. That particular track, which soars and screams, then subsides and glides, is a perfect example of the wide range in which Cymbals Eat Guitars rides.
I had the opportunity to chat with the lads briefly before their epic set, relaxing a bit in the band area of Monolith were Joseph “Ferocious” D’Agostino (vocals/guitars), Brian Hamilton (keyboards), Matthew Miller (drums) and Matthew Whipple (bass). Matthew and I actually share the same purple rubber iPhone protector, which started the conversation about their travels and tours as he showed me a picture of some mountain goats he caught chewing on grass off some road between one city and another.
A mere hour later these giggling and somewhat subdued chaps were blistering the face off of the crowd like the scene out of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” during the opening of the Ark of the Covenant. Okay, maybe not that extreme. But you get my drift.
Don’t get me wrong, this is no freaking hardcore band. As I mentioned earlier, Cymbals Eat Guitars are masters of manipulation, where one moment you’re caught in a world of bouncing melodies and head bopping opportunities, the next “Ferocious” is living up to his name, as is the rest of the band.
Coming off their SXSW gigs, Cymbals Eat Guitars stays on the road–with Bear In Heaven, Freelance Whales, and then Los Campesinos!–through the beginning of May. So if you were not in Austin, this is your chance to go for one hell of a ride.
US Tour Dates With Bear In Heaven & Freelance Whales
4/1 – Hi Dive – Denver, CO
4/2 – Replay Lounge – Lawrence, KS
4/3 – Turf Club – St. Paul, MN
4/4 – Schuba’s – Chicago, IL
4/6 – El Mocambo Club – Toronto, ON
4/7 – Il Motore – Montreal, QB
4/8 – The Middle East – Boston, MA
4/9 – Music Hall Of Williamsburg – New York, NY
US Tour Dates With Los Campesinos
4/20 – Phoenix Theatre – Toronto, ON
4/22 – The Fillmore at Irving Plaza – NYC
4/24 – Paradise – Boston, MA
4/30 – Metro – Chicago, IL
5/1 – First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN
www.myspace.com/cymbalseatguitars
