Starting TONIGHT, Earthless Are Going To Rock Our East Coast Faces Right Off
It’s no secret that I’m a tremendous fan of face-melting psychedelic proto-prog jammy freakout trippy instrumental power trio Earthless. So naturally I couldn’t be more ecstatic to have the opportunity to see this seriously stupendous band rocking live (with Tee Pee Records labelmates The Shrine) in my very own Big Apple this weekend.
But I’m not alone in this glorious (and frankly, rare) opportunity to witness and drink in Isaiah Mitchell’s fluid, ripping, Stevie Ray Vaughn-meets-Jimi Hendrix guitar solos alongside Mike Eginton’s super-solid bottom end rumbling and Mario Rubalcala’s frenetic yet focused skin pounding… a few other lucky East Coast cities (Washington/Philly/Boston) will also have a chance to experience this mighty band (and The Shrine at all shows except Boston, Ruby the Hatchet in DC, and Mirror Queen in Philly/NYC/Brooklyn) as well.
Two-thirds of the band recently released an unexpected collaboration entitled In A Dutch Haze under the name Earthless meets Heavy Blanket, with J Mascis from Dinosaur Jr./Witch/Heavy Blanket and Graham Clise from Lecherous Gaze/Witch/Heavy Blanket. The story goes as follows: at the Roadburn festival in April of this year…
…when Earthless guitarist Isaiah Mitchell had to back out at the last minute due to unforeseen circumstance, six-string shredder Graham Clise from J Mascis’ loud, psychedelic project Heavy Blankey (and who also plays with Mascis in WItch and in the bitchin’ Bay Area band Lacherous Gaze) stepped in on second guitar. Backed by the best rhythm section in today’s adventurous rock world — Mario Rubalcaba and Mike Eginton from Earthless — the quartet stormed the stage for what would become an incredible one-time happening, leading to almost a full hour of some of the most mind-bending heavy psych imaginable. The epic jam session gave birth to shredding psychedelia and hard rock blues underpinned by the muscular rhythmic sensibilities of kraut-rock and the unbridled energy of 70’s guitar rock. The formidable foundation laid by drummer Rubalcaba became a jumping off point for Mascis, Clise and Eighton to explore their inner cosmoi for consciousness-expanding riffs and music-induced psychedelic experiences.
Open your earholes to the complete result of said epic jam session:
Here are the scant Earthless East Coast dates with super-shredding guitarist Mitchell (the Boston show will actually feature a super-sized version of the apparently at-least-twice-in-a-lifetime Earthless meets Heavy Blanket mega jam — opening for fucking Sleep, no less — but none of the other dates will include Mascis or Clise, as far as we know), don’t you dare snooze on this if you live in one of these cities — starts tonight in DC!
Consider your eyes, ears, hearts, minds, and soon-to-be dropped jaws warned…
8/20: Washington, DC – Rock N Roll Hotel
8/21: Philadelphia, PA – Underground Arts
8/22: New York, NY – Mercury Lounge
8/23: Brooklyn, NY – Saint Vitus
8/24: Boston, MA – House of Blues
