This was my second Secret Chiefs 3 show, in a much better venue than the last time. It was also a very different experience and I’m not sure whether that’s because SC3 are doing something different on this tour (apparently they are here opening for Dead Cross) or whether the venue made them.

So there was an opener this time, which was definitely not the case last time. This opener was Devecseri, an electronic musician in a lab coat. The best way I can describe the music is that it was like Intelligent Dance Music but if it was constantly interrupted by either getting way slower or by fading down to just the monitors on the stage. This annoyed my friend, who felt like the guy was shooting himself in the foot every time he was creating some listenable music. I felt like this was more of the kind of thing I would enjoy if I was listening to it at home due to its avant-garde nature.

So we got to the venue at the time doors opened because I’m pretty sure SC3 went on immediately last time we saw them. However, this time they went on nearly two hours after we were let in (which is normal for rock bands in Toronto, actually it’s not as bad as normal) and I think if we had known when the set was going to start we probably wouldn’t have shown up so early. Ah well.

So, unlike last time, SC3 played only one set this time, I guess beggars cannot be choosers. As my friend put it, they were in their “Middle Eastern Surf Metal” mode so the show was louder than I was expecting and I once again was not adequately prepared for a concert as I forgot my ear plugs (and my ears are indeed ringing).

Secret Chiefs 3 are a rather incredible band and this iteration is no different: they are able to play extremely complicated music fast and loud and they stop on a dime as a unit in ways that make you think about the hours and hours of rehearsals necessary. I was particularly impressed by this iteration’s drummer, kept time during their weirdest parts with such ability that my mind was kind of blown. This is band I know from their early records and I haven’t really kept pace with their more recent music which, in some cases, seems to have gotten knottier and more difficult, and this drummer just blew through it like it was nothing. I mean, they’re all great musicians, they have to be, but the drummer was the one who really awed me this night.

I will definitely got seem them again next time they are in town.