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Words and Photos: Honeymoon / Cursetheknife / Youth Pool / Perfume at The Green House

Honeymoon at The Green House. Photo by Aaron Rhodes.
Date: November 19, 2021

The Green House - Kansas City, MO

 

This gig was the second-to-last date of a week-long co-headlining tour featuring Norwalk, Ohio's Honeymoon and Oklahoma City's Cursetheknife. The closing set from the former included passable space rock blasts (in addition to a mix of post-hardcore and alt-rock) and generally tight playing, but also amounts of uninteresting banter and grating vocals that ultimately made the performance feel like a waste of time in comparison to their tour mates.


Cursetheknife, on the other hand, laid waste to the East Side basement, conjuring some of the most blissful and deafening space rock and shoegaze that middle America has produced in recent years. To boot, the band was playing down one member after one of them couldn't make it on this date. I was shocked that no neighbors called the police following the cataclysmic breakdown that ended the band's set.


Youth Pool opened its set with "Overdrive," the first track from its 2021 EP The Youth Pool. The song was a smart choice; a straightforward rocker that propelled the band through a solid portion of its set. More so than many of their peers, however, Youth Pool is a band that is constantly evolving, even if it's occasionally to their detriment. Though the infectious danciness of songs like "Return To Earth" shined through on this night, as in some past performances I've seen from the band, the various shifting sound dynamics could become difficult for them to balance. For example, sometimes the volume of Micah Brower's drums would prevent one from hearing a guitar solo from David Chavez or Gage Brock. The band only played out a few times in 2021, though, so I'm sure with time this set of songs will be properly honed.


Perfume opened the night following a brief guitar cab issue that forced them to restart the first song. "Never stop playing!" shouted vocalist/guitarist Jamie Woodard with a smile. The band has been one of the hardcore scene's go-to local acts since emerging from the pandemic's live music drought, so their playing at this show was as solid as any other. I did find myself wondering if an additional guitar player might help balance out the overwhelming grooves of bassist Tyler Snow, but that may only have come to mind since I was standing right next to their amp. One or two unreleased songs had been worked in the set, but perhaps for the same reason, I don't yet have a grip on exactly what they sound like in comparison to the Charlie's Angels EP.

 

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