Opinion | Live Loud Music at Quarters

Local, independent shows are always interesting to me, especially if the bands on the bill specialize in eardrum-rupturingly abrasive music. Most of the bands that play these kinds of shows are relatively unknown, and are either from the area or touring in a van they can barely afford to keep fueled. This being the case, there’s a good chance a casual music fan with limited ties to the underground won’t know anything about anyone playing that night. To many people, this is a deterrent, but what they don’t realize is that lacking prior knowledge about a musician can often lead to a very memorable concert experience.)

This happened to me on Saturday night, when I went to see Nak’ay, Hang Ten, Population Control and Miserable Friend at Quarters Rock ‘n Roll Palace in Milwaukee.

The latter band was the first to play, apparently filling in for a band called Ferals who couldn’t make it that night. Hailing from Appleton, Miserable Friend is easily one of the more unique bands I’ve seen at Quarters. What made their set stand out was how much it clashed with the other three bands: their music, while undeniably raw and energetic, wasn’t quite as “heavy” as that of the bands that followed. Miserable Friend defies easy categorization, playing a bizarre, jarring blend of noise rock and psychedelia. Kicking off a grindcore/thrash metal show is an unenviable task for a band like them, but they rose to the occasion rather admirably. I would see them again, though preferably more in their element, alongside bands with a similar aesthetic.

Next up was Population Control, Milwaukee’s favorite-ish thrashers. This was actually my third or fourth time seeing them, as they seem to pop up at every other local show regardless of who else is playing. “Oh look,” I say to myself every time I see them, “there’s Population Control, again.” You’d think a crossover thrash band would blend well with many different kinds of extreme music, but every time I see them, it feels forced, almost like they were shoehorned in at the last minute. However, though I never found them particularly compelling myself, I must concede (however grudgingly) that they’re good at what they do: they play loud, fast and angry, like D.R.I. with a harsher vocal style. They’ve certainly had enough opportunities to perfect their technique, and it shows. Maybe I’m just sick of them, and their incessant banter with the audience and each other only makes them get stale faster.

Hang Ten was the penultimate band. They and Nak’ay – both from Fort Wayne, Indiana – were the ear-splitting, breathtakingly fast kind of punk-metal I had been expecting to see that night, and by the time Hang Ten took the stage, I had become slightly impatient waiting for it. But boy, did they deliver. Don’t let their goofy skate-punk name fool you – these guys are heavy. Their music is powerviolence to its very core, played at breakneck speed, maximum volume, and in very short bursts (their set clocked in at under fifteen minutes). One interesting thing about them is that they don’t have a bass player. This is not unheard of among bands who play as fast as they do, but it can be kind of a double-edged sword. The lack of a bass guitar accentuates their rawness and separates them from more metallic-sounding grind bands, but at times, it just seemed to lack that extra “punch,” resulting in brief moments of weightless dead space. Despite this, they’re more than good enough to make up for it. I particularly enjoyed watching their vocalist, an animated and incendiary wild-man who seemed to jump all around the venue. Very good stuff overall. It’s not easy being challenging and compelling at the same time, but while Hang Ten still have some kinks to work out, they’re on the right track.

Finally, the headlining act. Nak’ay, an up-and-coming grindcore outfit, were the last to play that night. To the untrained ear, one might find them indistinguishable from Hang Ten: their music is crushingly heavy, their playing is blindingly fast, and their songs are unusually short. However, there are some key differences. The grindcore of Nak’ay is decidedly more metal-sounding than Hang Ten, which is closer to hardcore punk. Grind tends more toward sounding very dense and surprisingly technical, and Nak’ay are excellent at it (though having a bass player helps). They were basically everything I had gone there to see, with no frills. Refreshingly, they were also noticeably lighthearted. I could tell just by watching them that they didn’t take themselves too seriously, and they legitimately seemed to be having fun punishing us with ten minutes of noise. I bought a CD version of their split album with Archagathus after their set, despite having never heard of Archagathus before. After all, I hadn’t heard of Nak’ay either before that night, but their set turned me into a fan.

It wasn’t the greatest, most eye-opening show I’d ever been to, but it was a great night overall. I heard some new music and had more fun than I would have had I just stayed home. I would recommend a Quarters show to anyone who likes heavy music, even (or, perhaps, especially) if they haven’t heard of anyone on the bill. Like I mentioned earlier, the lack of prior knowledge means a bigger surprise when the music starts. I can think of no better way to spend five bucks or a Saturday night.