Show Review - The Body and Dis Fig w/ Cel Genesis at Velvet Underground
2024-07-05 Toronto, ON
Noise Trio Shatter the Firmament
The book of Genesis describes the firmament as a divinely created barrier that separates the “waters above” from the earthly “waters below”.
There were many theories of how it worked (gates to let the sun and moon into the sky?) or what it was made of (some solid form of water? a mixture of water and fire?). The Body and Dis Fig’s album “Orchards of a Futile Heaven” carries the crushing weight and beautiful confusion of seeing the sky collapse only to realize there was an ocean up there. Their live show conveyed this chaos perfectly.
The range of Felicia Chen’s (Dis Fig) voice was on full display - sometimes as smoke weaving through the wreckage, sometimes as an explosive force commanding the elements around it. Tracks like “Holy Lance” and “Coils of Kaa” saw Chen shifting seamlessly between ethereal melodics and full-floodgates-open screaming.
Chip King’s feral, distorted shrieks would pierce through the veil at critical moments. They felt like a klaxon ringing out, as if to say “something’s gone terribly wrong and there’s nothing we can do to fix it”. King also handled the distorted sonics throughout, aided by a host of pedals and other electronics.
The final element of the sonic alchemy was Lee Buford’s drums. Often sparse and skeletal, his percussion thrummed alongside the rest of the music, only to explode into a propulsive groove (“Orchards of a Futile Heaven”) or break down into sludge (“Coils of Kaa”). His restraint and precision were incredible and when the cymbals finally kicked in it felt like waves crashing against the pillars of the earth.
With two noise tables and drums in the mix the set could have easily devolved into formless chaos, but the trio worked incredibly well together. Each member knew when to give way and allow drones or choral embellishments to breathe/seethe through. Every vocal melody, shriek, grinding sample or drum hit had a counterpart that strengthened its impact.
Although the sequencing was different, they played every track from “Orchards” and the overall flow of the set felt very intentional. I was thrilled that they closed on the album’s last two tracks, “Coils of Kaa” and “Back to the Water”. I can’t imagine listening to one of these songs without the other and the cathartic organ drone of the latter was a perfect way to wind things down. After so much captivating destruction, there were no more “waters above” or “waters below” to return to, just depths.
But back to Genesis for a minute - earlier in the night, tour openers Cel Genesis gave an extended strobe warning before their set. I thought the warning was excessive… until they started playing. What followed was a nonstop ecstatic nightmare of strobing lights and music that was hardcore in every genre-sense of the word. Bubbling synths and distorted speedy four-on-the-floor kicks melted into frantic drumming and screams from both vocalists. If you have the chance to see this band (and you’re not prone to strobe-induced seizures), don’t sleep on them.
