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    Pill Brings Surging Post-Punk to Ace of Cups March 2

    Brooklyn’s Pill comes to Ace of Cups on Thursday promoting one of last year’s most exciting records. Writing about last year’s Convenience for Agit Reader, I called their debut “a grab-you-by-the-throat look at authenticity: what it means, why fighting for it is important, and how difficult it can be not just to get numb and disappear.” Pitchfork said they “create controlled chaos that combines musical chops rarely seen in punk with incisive social commentary.”

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    Singer Veronica Torres performs breathtaking balancing acts with ease. Her voice rises, a flash of lightning, bobbing on the currents of the music underneath and redirecting their flow. She knows how much specificity of language matters. She plays with “My life / My rights / Might I” in the song “My Rights” so they blur like homonyms, forcing the listener to think about the commonality of those phrases, before disrupting the line with an enjambment, ending the sentence with “Talk over.” On “Dead Boys” she coos “I’m a girl’s girl” and “Press it deep and make it count” while acknowledging “Constructing empires. There’s no life in this boy.” The textures of Torres’ voice and the willingness to tease out every contour keeps the trajectory she travels from croon to snarl, a whisper to a shriek, from falling into cliche.

    Convenience is an assault on complacency and a reminder to take nothing for granted. In a terrific interview with Nylon, Torres said, “All of the tools and technology that we have accepted for a sense of safety come at the cost of lives and privacy. We, at times, take for granted the history that has set our contemporary lives in motion. It’s all mixed in with bloodshed, self-interest, and control.” To She Shreds, she expanded “At this point in culture we have so many images at our fingertips when we open a browser. The porn, the luxury items being sold, and war images all come up in a series of tabs when trying to read the news, play a game, or check out the local art show listings…We are in a space where artists and corporations play with these same ideas, and as a band, we thought a lot about these ideas both in lyrics and in song crafting…Pay attention to your surroundings, listen to your brain and body when you feel uncomfortable and ask why (even when you aren’t sure if that’s truly why…), and be open to people, learning, and change.”

    Of course, Pill isn’t a recital; it’s a rock band. As important as the voice and the words are, the grooves and hooks in the music tell as much of the story. Torres’ bass playing syncs with Andrew Spaulding’s drums as they pinball between classic no wave disjunction, tense motorik and loose swinging. The propulsion of that rhythm section sets the tone for splashing firey color from Ben Jaffee’s sax and Jonathan Campolo’s guitar. One of the full-on rock shows I’m most looking forward to in the first quarter of the year, this promises to be an evening of sweaty rock and roll with a beating heart full of acid and a brain that’s always three steps ahead.

    Locals Tasty celebrate a tape release at the same show. Singer-guitarist Ian Graham’s songs get catchier and more infectious every year, and his connection with drummer Jay has a perfect feel for the slightly-forbidden dance party nature of these tunes. Columbus’ Van Dale and Cincinnati’s Dinge round out the bill.

    Pill performs at Ace of Cups Thursday, March 2. $8 cover, doors at 8:00 pm. Tickets and more info available here.

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    Richard Sanford
    Richard Sanfordhttp://sanfordspeaks.blogspot.com/
    Richard Sanford is a freelance contributor to Columbus Underground covering the city's vibrant theatre scene. You can find him seeking inspiration at a variety of bars, concert halls, performance spaces, museums and galleries.
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