Although I had two shows going on that night, I sent a secret reviewer to the Sleigh Bells and CSS show. If you ever want to review or write for parade of flesh, then please email us paradeofATparadeoffleshDOTcom | can remain anonymous if you feel inclined.
Sleigh Bells played Friday night to a sold out crowd at the Granada Theater in Dallas, Texas. Arriving while the crowd was still enjoying their 1st intermission smoke, I was not too disappointed to have just missed tonight’s opening act, the rock-pop “comedian” Bosco Delrey. Sleigh Bells was on tap after all and as I stepped through the ballroom doors, the stack of Marshall amps stood onstage offering fair warning for what was about to come.
From the simple yet effective stage lighting to the two Marshall towers stacked four high, the shows visual simplicity left room for the duo to blow the collective eardrums out of the eagerly awaiting crowd. Alexis Krauss (vocals) and Derek Miller (guitar/production) leveled the adoring fans with their break-neck 30 m minute set. Whether it is by conscious design or simply the fact that the band’s 2010 debut album is only 32 minutes long to begin with, the length and pace were a perfect match for the onstage antics of Krauss and Miller’s bass heavy loops (not to mention his guitar work).
Playing exclusively from their 2010 debut album, Treats, they plowed through their set. With the frantic pace and the volume turned up to eleven, the duo made their presence known. The popular single, “Crown on the Ground”, opened the set that also included “Rill Rill”, “Infinity Guitars”, and “Riot Rhythm” all of which found the crowd singing along. Not even the buzz that celebrity Sleigh Bells fan, Mark Salling (Puck, Glee) was in attendance could stifle the vibrant energy emanating from the direction of the stage.
The pair met and then exceeded the expectations of this fan. I was not the only one whose expectations were exceeded. It seems that the young crowd not only left with higher expectations, they also simply left after the Sleigh Bells onslaught. They must have sensed that the evening’s event had already reached its crescendo, and CSS did not generate the pre-show hype that preceded Sleigh Bells despite headlining the event. With the demographic of the show significantly skewed away from the underage girl hipsters and toward gay men CSS took the stage and shredded to everyone’s delight. Luisa Hanae Matsushita(lead-vocals), better known by her stage name Lovefoxxx was amazing.
koven66