Black Mountain by lezah williamson

with Climax Gold Twins and Mexican Power Authority

Photo removed - Apparently it was of the wrong band - editor's bad!

Saturday, Nov. 3 at Richard's Sold Out

Vancouver: Scratch Records kicked off their 20th anniversary celebrations with a sold out Black Mountain show. Opening for Black Mountain was Mexican Power Authority from Victoria and Seattle's Climax Gold Twins.

I really enjoyed Mexican Power Authority. Playing their first show in ten years, lead singer Jason Flower was in his element. A progressive hardcore band, they claim to have first coined and developed strang, which has since gone international. Flower is funny - funny, funny, funny - and Mexican Power Authority is known as much for its short (sometimes 20 secondd long) songs as it is for the bandmates’ humour. Flower sounds a lot like a singer from another popular Victoria band, No Means No. They finished their set with a 1972 song from another Victoria band; it was a fantastic song, but I missed the name of both the song and the long-defunct band who originally did it.

Next up was Climax Gold Twins from Seattle. They did a largely instrumental (and experimental) set; I don't think they even sang until somewhere near the end of their set when they did a Bonzo's song.

Finally Black Mountain was up. Of course, Black Mountain is Scratch's darling: their 2005 self-titled album is still Scratch's biggest seller. They were named in Amazon.com's Editor's top 100 for 2005, and their song Stay Free was used in Spiderman 3. Singer Amber Webber and brains behind the operation (as well as the brains behind many other bands like Pink Mountaintops) Stephen McBean played a psychedelic set heavily influenced by Sabbath, Zeppelin, Hendrix and the like. I had seen Black Mountain about three years ago and they are much more polished and professional as an act now.

During Black Mountain’s set, the entire audience was thoroughly packed onto the dance floor at Richards - I know, because near the beginning of the set I had to make my way from the front, where we were at the stage, to the back of the club - and that was no easy feat. People were packed so tightly it was practically a gridlock. I almost didn't get through - as for getting back to the front again? Forget it! If I learned one thing, it's this: you don't give up prime real estate at a Black Mountain show and then expect to get it back. Ain't gonna happen, baby!

Images from Myspace.com