I had big plans for spring of 2020. I’d already bought tickets to see Dweezil Zappa tour on Frank Zappa’s Hot Rats anniversary & I planned on seeing Circa Survive & Bikini Kill on tour as well, but the news about Covid-19 landing in Seattle had caused me to pump the brakes a little. The Zappa show happened, it was the end of February, but when I came out of The Neptune that night the world had shifted & in the coming weeks everything would shut down.
With my hopes dashed, I’d hoped the tours would be postponed for a few months – but months turned to years & eventually I just hoped I’d have a chance to see any band live again. After things opened more, my desperation shifted. I just wanted to see any Anthony Green project to make up for that missed spring. & while Circa Survive went on indefinite hiatus, the chance came up to see The Sound of Animals Fighting & I immediately bought tickets.
The band was touring on their Apeshit EP with openers Korine & played Seattle’s Showbox on April 13. TSOAF is stranger, mathier, & more chaotic than Circa, but the project – consisting of former & current members of Rx Bandits (another fave band), Anthony Green, & other guests – dropped an absolutely perfect EP with four unskippable songs in December 2022. I was grateful to snag tickets for their first show in Seattle.
Korine
Korine is an electronic pop duo with an 80s-inspired new wave sound. It’s lofi dance music with heavy lyrics & an inescapable bounce. I came into the show having briefly listened to a handful of their tracks, & despite my relative newness to the material, I found myself nodding along with the music as if I’d been listening to them forever. They are an engaging live band that sound consistent to their studio recordings.
They are based in Philadelphia & are label mates of The Sound of Animals Fighting. Their latest album “Tear” was released this year, & my favorite track at the moment is “The More I Try.”
Find out more about the band at korineband.com.
The Sound of Animals Fighting
I’ve heard The Sound of Animals Fighting called post-punk, experimental, prog, & a post-hardcore supergroup & I suppose they are all of those things at the same time. Some of their songs are noisy, strange collections of sound & atmosphere; some are quiet with clean piano or guitar accompanying a moody, soft vocal line; some are mathy screeds, punctuated by frantic screaming & melodic emo-tinged clean vocal lines.
Whatever they are, the music speaks for itself. It may not take you where you expect it to go, but it’s always weirdly beautiful. “The Heretic” from “Lover, the Lord has Left Us” is a long-time favorite.
But for this show, the band’s performance of “Sharon Tate, Despite Everything” was the pinnacle of the evening. Rich Balling’s haunting vocals on the verses is accompanied by ringing synth & guitar, & leveraged against the full brunt of the band behind Green’s sprawling, frantic screams in the choruses. The song is disorienting, almost unbelievably lovely, especially as it winds down into the mathy, trance-like bridge.
I’ve written before about my awe at Tades Sanville’s unflinching performance in my Hot Mulligan review but Anthony Green really is the OG. This man sounds like he is tearing his vocal cords out one second & the next he’s singing like a sweet, baby angel. He is one of the foundational talents of the genre, I don’t know how many times I’ve heard a new band & described the singer as “a little like Anthony Green.” But Green is more than just a noticeable voice in the scene, he is a figure who has openly struggled with addiction & mental health. & his honesty, hopefulness, & willingness to interact openly with fans who are struggling is so goddamn admirable. I’m grateful for all he’s done as an artist & try to support his projects wherever I possibly can.
Would I see this band again? Well, they said they’d be back in Seattle in 100 years so if I’m still around in some cybernetic form — definitely with robot legs — I suppose I would love to.
All joking aside, I don’t plan on staying on the west coast forever so I’ll always have my fingers crossed that I’ll have the opportunity to catch them at another show.
Find out more about the band at thesoundofanimalsfighting.com.
I’ve been to several shows at The Showbox, but the last time was about 2011. It hasn’t changed much, but they had at least half of the room cordoned off for this show.
There was very limited seating available in the bar & luckily I was able to snag one of the chairs because I’d spent the day walking around downtown & had already clocked nearly 10 miles by the time I got to the venue. There are a lot of available lots nearby for parking & downtown Seattle is very walkable. My favorite place to park for any of the downtown venues is the Securities garage on 3rd & Stewart.
The Apeshit tour was limited. But I’d highly encourage readers to check out the new EP & follow the band & musicians on socials for info on future tours.
My year of many shows continues, next on the schedule is Wage War with nothing.nowhere. I also have tickets to Meute, Thrice, Between the Buried & Me with Thank You Scientist, & Sleep Token. If you’re out at shows in the Pacific Northwest I may see you there.
LE Francis (she/her) is Sage Cigarettes Magazine’s fiction editor. She’s a writer, podcaster, visual artist, & musician. She is a columnist for Cream Scene Magazine. She is a co-host & editor of Sage Cigarettes’ A Ghost in the Magazine horror review podcast. Her debut poetry chapbook, This Spell of Song & Star, is available through Bottlecap Features. Find her at nocturnical.com.
