IS ISIS GETTING BORING OR SHOULD I HAVE SMOKED WEED BEFORE THE SHOW?
Thursday, June 11th, 2009 at 4:43pm by Kip Wingerschmidt
Okay, fine — I’ll admit it: I’m on a non-weed kick. Or, lemme correct that — I’m on a non-weed buying kick. ‘Cause I’m still down to smoke from time to time but I get really compulsive about le ganj, and if me have a bag in me clutches, ima puffaleel every day of the week….which is all well and good in theory (not really), but seriously I’ve been doing that for way too long and I need to get ahold of myself before my brain dwindles down to a scant shred and I can’t properly form a sentence (let alone impart my wisdom to the youth of America). Will power, shmill power — that concept doesn’t really come into play when th’erb attaches itself to your lungs like black venomous goo on Spiderman.
And furthermore, in conjunction with all the painkillers I’ve been ingesting recently, it’s hard to drink whiskey AND smoke weed AND stand upright/keep my eyes open sometimes….so puffing before concerts and social outings has dropped to an all-time minimum for me lately. I don’t mind all that much, usually don’t miss the ol’girl, but shit yo, certain concerts have really been lacking for me lately, and I’m forced to wonder if smoking before a band goes onstage actually does make all the difference sometimes.
Is “stoner” rock/metal not even worth it without the pot?
I’m pontificating on this point because at last week’s Isis show at the Gestapo-ish Fillmore at Irving Plaza in Manhattanstein, I found the band to come off a bit more repetitive and, well, boring than in the past, and as a huge fan….I can’t help but wonder why.
Let me begin by saying that the two opening bands weren’t helping in the least — Brooklyn’s own Tombs plays hookless noise-metal, but without the groove, chops, or creativity that genre demands I was thoroughly unenthused (again). And Chicago’s Pelican, who just a couple years ago I thought might be making a comeback into awesomeness, continued the night into Yawnsville with guitar-driven instrumetal post-post (minus the solos or melodies that one might expect): a singer-less band without interesting enough music to captivate instrumentally. And so pumped I was not after these two snoozers.
Which brings me to Isis: a prolific, impressive band for well over a decade now, and amazing the last time I saw them just a few years ago……but this time around, early into the set I found the band’s shtick to be pretty repetitive. A lot of that had to do with almost every song sitting in the same slow tempo, with what seemed like very similar structures throughout. But how could such a revolutionary band come off as seeming to play the same song over and over again?
Next time I go to see Isis — ’cause they are indeed an awesome band and I am hardly throwing in the towel on them — I will most definitely be smoking beforehand. I just wish I didn’t have to.
-KW
thank you, tombs fucking sucks. i got their album after numerous good reviews and was so underwhelmed i sold it back a few days later. as to your other question though, i listen to isis all the time sober and still love them, but if their set was heavy on the wavering radiant album then i could see your point.
i should rephrase that, they don’t suck, but i was disappointed.
I am still debating whether or not I am going to go see them tonight. Being a non-weed smoker, if your saying its going to be that boring, then I might just skip out. Unfortunate.
Eh…drop the $12 and go anyway…especially if Pelican is still on that tour. Their live performance is jaw-dropping.
Stoner metal is definitely “worth it” with out smoking weed. I love bands like Isis, Mastodon, The Ocean, and I have never smoked weed.
me neither and im dying to get some to see how awesome these bands would be with some
same, although I haven’t seen any of those bands live so I wouldn’t know if they would be exciting or not
I agree, Isis=need to be stoned, its just too slow of a tempo most of the time with very little going on for so many minutes…its cool to be progressive and shit, but not 2 minutes of the same chords with some ambient noise in the background….speaking of weed, im out of work…time to pack the bowlski!!!
I was a HUGE Pelican fan for a few years there, and then “City of Echoes” came out and I just kinda totally got bored and lost interest. But I also kinda have the same revelation you did w/Isis & smoking before a show. It was a lot harder to trance out and let the music wash over me; instead I was looking at my watch and guzzling beers and waiting for them to hurry up & play “Drought” and/or “March to the Sea” or whatever.
Nope. I hate stoner metal. I like the doom originators though. Every new straight-up stoner band sounds like watered down Black Sabbath with Ozzy. Or Candlemass.
Mastodon is good only because they are more prog/metal than stoner and even they have a gotten a little boring. Isis has always been boring though.
I don’t smoke weed either, so that could be why I don’t like it. I mean I like metal because of the live energy, which stoner bands typically lack.
none of the bands he mentioned sound anything like sabbath or candlemass. try again.
Tool=another good stoner band that you can listen to without actually smoking. However, I don’t really want to see them live for fear I would not enjoy the show.
wtf?
Um, yeah, Randy, WTF? Tool is the one of the best live bands on the planet right now.
What do you mean is Isis GETTING boring?
I love stoner, doom, and sludge metal while sober…the sludgiest bands are always the heaviest regardless of what state your mind and body are in
I think the ISIS ship has sailed. Its been out at sea for a while. But now I think it is gone.
Drink a bottle of Robitussin and crank up the EYEHATEGOD.
saw isis 2 nights in a row (northampton and boston) and they were incredible both nights
pelican bored me to tears the first night so i skipped most of the second nights set
tombs who did little for me on album were actually pretty good live
Dear god no. I’m a huge fan of stoner rock/metal and post-metal like Isis and i’ve only ever smoked pot once in my life!
I saw Isis once in 1999 or 2000, with Botch opening up; they were amazing. I saw them again on their 10th anniversary tour, with Jesu opening up; they were incredibly boring and I left early. The studio albums are great (OK, except for In The Absence Of Truth), though.
I saw Isis a few days ago in Cleveland, for the first time and thought they were amazing.
I saw Isis a few weeks ago in Austin and I, too, found them completely boring. I couldn’t even be bother to stay for the entire show. I wondered about this as I was walking away from the club, since I used to really enjoy their music and was not disappointed the last time I saw them–and I don’t smoke weed at all. Maybe my musical tastes are changing. Or, maybe they were always boring, and I’m just seeing that for the first time. I don’t want to give up on them, either, but I know boring when I see it. And that, my friends, was fucking BORING.
Haven’t seen Isis since their tour with Jesu, but I’ve gotten really bored with the whole post-metal scene, and not even Isis/Pelican do it for me anymore.
baroness is pretty much the only post-metal band out there that can keep me listening when im not baked
Saw them with fantomas and the melvins in december and they were pretty amazing, i love them stoned or not.
I enjoyed Tombs and Pelican, but didn’t stay for Isis. Reviewed the show here:
http://atanamar.blogspot.com/2009/06/pelican-tombs-june-2nd-irving-plaza-nyc.html
Meh, I don’t smoke weed and I enjoy Isis just fine.
If you only appreciate a band when you’re stoned then they must suck. Just like if you only find your wife attractive when you’re drunk she ain’t pretty.
I smoke gobs of weed. No Isis please. Where is the groove/thrash metal thread?
hopefully in the toilet where it belongs…
HA!
Isis is all about what mood you’re in. I can sit for hours zoning out to that band, but then sometimes I’ll give them a spin and find it sounding plain flat and boring.
I loved seeing their live a show a couple of years back, although – ahem – yeah, maybe a little something before the show helped. Kinda like, it’s a 3D movie and you need the specs to make it work.
I love their studio albums but Live they just dont do it for me. I think I stayed for 3 songs at the irving and then left out of Boredom. Besides I wanted to go back to my place and play more Left 4 Dead.
The writer of this article is the most amateur weed smoker ever, has the worst taste in metal, and probably sucks his own dick. And fuck Isis.
It comes down to this, are you a fan of the feeling music offers you when you’re stoned or are you a fan of music?
I second Conduit’s point. If you “have to” take a drug to listen to a band than you have a problem. Personally, I think I the best way to listen to ISIS is sober in a hot car in the middle of the summer driving cross-country. Time stretches out. Horizon lines merge. Sweat. Fading color. Life. Vigor.
By the way, Metal Sucks writers, reading books will benefit your life as well as your craft.