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USSA at 12 Galaxies Last Week
I've been meaning to put up this post for several days about USSA's show last week at 12 Galaxies in the Mission in SF. I've been waiting to see these guys LIVE for a some time now - former guitarist from the Jesus Lizard and former bassist from Ministry have put together an incredible band that absolutely BLEW ME AWAY.
Yeah, OK, so I'm a bit biased here, but I was honestly amazed as it was the first time I had seen the band on stage. There were a bunch of Fuzz folks that also showed up to the event - Beradley, Liz, Urbano, Dan, Otter, Ry Ry, Seandroid, Lisa from the Lovemakers, V, and some folks from the Artist Advocate program...
USSA plays some pretty dark and intense music with ridiculous technical chops. It was great to see Paul Barker up close laying down some incredible bass lines. The last time I saw him play was at Lollapalooza '92 when he was with Ministry.
The band's technical capabilities really came through on "Autumn Flowers." Duane laid down some wild guitar lines that almost sounded like bells. I forgot to ask what effects he was using on his guitar, but the sound was totally eerie and was a great opening for the song. Paul's chops over the verse section were unreal. His fingers were flying all over the fretboard and he was doing some really wild muting with his left thumb. Johnny on drums held steady with flawless precision. I was really impressed with his ability to blend extremely well with sampled beats that were introduced throughout the set. Finally, the real surprise for me came from newcomer vocalist, Gary Call. The intensity with which he attacked each song was riveting. In some cases he would hold the microphone down by his navel and still sang with such force that the vocals came through the PA. He's going to be a name that you will hear in the upcoming years...
They're coming through San Francisco again with Chemlab and will be playing at Bottom of the Hill on Wednesday, November 28th. I'm sure you won't be disappointed...
Yeah, OK, so I'm a bit biased here, but I was honestly amazed as it was the first time I had seen the band on stage. There were a bunch of Fuzz folks that also showed up to the event - Beradley, Liz, Urbano, Dan, Otter, Ry Ry, Seandroid, Lisa from the Lovemakers, V, and some folks from the Artist Advocate program...
USSA plays some pretty dark and intense music with ridiculous technical chops. It was great to see Paul Barker up close laying down some incredible bass lines. The last time I saw him play was at Lollapalooza '92 when he was with Ministry.
The band's technical capabilities really came through on "Autumn Flowers." Duane laid down some wild guitar lines that almost sounded like bells. I forgot to ask what effects he was using on his guitar, but the sound was totally eerie and was a great opening for the song. Paul's chops over the verse section were unreal. His fingers were flying all over the fretboard and he was doing some really wild muting with his left thumb. Johnny on drums held steady with flawless precision. I was really impressed with his ability to blend extremely well with sampled beats that were introduced throughout the set. Finally, the real surprise for me came from newcomer vocalist, Gary Call. The intensity with which he attacked each song was riveting. In some cases he would hold the microphone down by his navel and still sang with such force that the vocals came through the PA. He's going to be a name that you will hear in the upcoming years...
They're coming through San Francisco again with Chemlab and will be playing at Bottom of the Hill on Wednesday, November 28th. I'm sure you won't be disappointed...
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posted on Oct 24 at 3:52 am
Wish I could have been there. Saw them three times in the last month and floored me each time. Jeff's right - Gary is their secret weapon. Can't wait til they come to Chicago again. I even drove to DeKalb, IL on a Sunday after their last Chicago show to see them again. That's how good they are. No shit.