Itchy-O: End of Days Halloween with the itchy-O Marching Band and itchy-O Proper
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Wednesday, December 01, 2010
Now for a completely different Halloween.
The first time I had the pleasure of catching the itchy-O Marching Band was with theWarlock Pinchers reunion show at The Gothic Theater. If you haven't had the chance of being in the right place at the right time to catch them, you are missing out. Their sound is industrial, somewhat tribal and on occasion, reminiscent of the late Crash Worship.
The itchy-O Marching Banddoesn't usually plan their appearances. They are impromptu and free-form, and entertain when and where they desire. I was invited to attend the Halloween "End of Days" performance at Sutra in Denver, one of the few promoted and planned events. They are a talented group of about 25 and a mix of an extreme amount of energetic and brilliant mediums. From their disguising uniforms to their innovative instruments, visuals, and electronics, itchy-O is not your typical marching band.
Halloween was truly an experience – the hypnotizing rhythmic sounds of a nontraditional marching band. The band enters the venue with the quiet beating of the drums and what could almost be white noise, only to moments later break out to what could only be described as mesmerizing, loud, and tribal. Next we had itchy-O Proper, the "sit-down" side of the IOMB. They played with amazing energy and style – percussion, the accordion, and various stringed instruments, just as equal in greatness to their stand-up counterparts.
Both the IOMB and itchy-O proper play independently of each other, but on Halloween they provided a rare, hybrid multimedia production. Sometimes mild and melodic and edgy and raucous, their eight-member electro-acoustic band played a set of orchestral grooves accompanied by their experimental films. The evening was a dynamic sensory experience, beginning and ending with an eruption of marching band madness. Throughout the evening the audience was surrounded by an array of keyboards, drums, fog machine, lights and what once was brass had become re-purposed electronic devices for sound and effects. This sets them far apart from the rest. Fog streams from one of the artists who moved through the crowd keeping the energy and excitement in full swing. The sounds and images tantalized every sense of one's being. The itchy-O Marching Band's Chinese Lion Larry added the final touch, keeping the crowd engaged and dancing to what turned out to be one of the greatest Hallows' Eve I have experienced in quite a few years.
I can't seem to see them enough. Performance to performance, no two are the same. They shift with the audience young to old; you are bound to be seduced into an encounter like no other. Keep your eyes and ears open – you never know when you might catch one of the most unique acts around.
"We have an expensive habit ... crashing your life. We don't do it for the money, obviously, but it's a complicated endeavor. We've got 20+ players, stomping around with 30+ pounds of fragile gear on their backs. We love the element of surprise and the freedom to play just about anywhere and any time (except in the rain). The itchy-O "sit-down" band is also a gear-heavy multi-media production and that can sometimes dictate where the act plays. With the IOMB, we may invest a couple of hours of prep and staging for each launch, but it's on our time and at our pace. There's a lot of freedom in that. We sometimes book shows, but the majority of our sets are guerrilla-style. Every once in a while a fan will throw a buck or two at us (usually at one of our sexy spastic cymbal players), which is sweet, but we're not buskers. We really want to give an experience, wake up some arts appreciation in the community."
~Scott Banning, itchy-O collective leader
www.Itchyo.com
www.coloradomusicbuzz.com
The first time I had the pleasure of catching the itchy-O Marching Band was with theWarlock Pinchers reunion show at The Gothic Theater. If you haven't had the chance of being in the right place at the right time to catch them, you are missing out. Their sound is industrial, somewhat tribal and on occasion, reminiscent of the late Crash Worship.
The itchy-O Marching Banddoesn't usually plan their appearances. They are impromptu and free-form, and entertain when and where they desire. I was invited to attend the Halloween "End of Days" performance at Sutra in Denver, one of the few promoted and planned events. They are a talented group of about 25 and a mix of an extreme amount of energetic and brilliant mediums. From their disguising uniforms to their innovative instruments, visuals, and electronics, itchy-O is not your typical marching band.
Halloween was truly an experience – the hypnotizing rhythmic sounds of a nontraditional marching band. The band enters the venue with the quiet beating of the drums and what could almost be white noise, only to moments later break out to what could only be described as mesmerizing, loud, and tribal. Next we had itchy-O Proper, the "sit-down" side of the IOMB. They played with amazing energy and style – percussion, the accordion, and various stringed instruments, just as equal in greatness to their stand-up counterparts.
Both the IOMB and itchy-O proper play independently of each other, but on Halloween they provided a rare, hybrid multimedia production. Sometimes mild and melodic and edgy and raucous, their eight-member electro-acoustic band played a set of orchestral grooves accompanied by their experimental films. The evening was a dynamic sensory experience, beginning and ending with an eruption of marching band madness. Throughout the evening the audience was surrounded by an array of keyboards, drums, fog machine, lights and what once was brass had become re-purposed electronic devices for sound and effects. This sets them far apart from the rest. Fog streams from one of the artists who moved through the crowd keeping the energy and excitement in full swing. The sounds and images tantalized every sense of one's being. The itchy-O Marching Band's Chinese Lion Larry added the final touch, keeping the crowd engaged and dancing to what turned out to be one of the greatest Hallows' Eve I have experienced in quite a few years.
I can't seem to see them enough. Performance to performance, no two are the same. They shift with the audience young to old; you are bound to be seduced into an encounter like no other. Keep your eyes and ears open – you never know when you might catch one of the most unique acts around.
"We have an expensive habit ... crashing your life. We don't do it for the money, obviously, but it's a complicated endeavor. We've got 20+ players, stomping around with 30+ pounds of fragile gear on their backs. We love the element of surprise and the freedom to play just about anywhere and any time (except in the rain). The itchy-O "sit-down" band is also a gear-heavy multi-media production and that can sometimes dictate where the act plays. With the IOMB, we may invest a couple of hours of prep and staging for each launch, but it's on our time and at our pace. There's a lot of freedom in that. We sometimes book shows, but the majority of our sets are guerrilla-style. Every once in a while a fan will throw a buck or two at us (usually at one of our sexy spastic cymbal players), which is sweet, but we're not buskers. We really want to give an experience, wake up some arts appreciation in the community."
~Scott Banning, itchy-O collective leader
www.Itchyo.com
www.coloradomusicbuzz.com
