Before delving into a set of melding together chaos and harmony, Tera Melos guitarist Nick Reinhert grabbed his microphone to yell “DENTAL PLAN!” at the crowd. A few hesitant Simpsons fans immediately understood the reference, mumbling back to him, “Lisa needs braces!” It is no secret Tera Melos are some of the biggest Simpsons fans. Their gear is covered in memorabilia and their merch is often printed with select characters from the show. Just like The Simpsons, Tera Melos has created their own universe from scratch. For Tera Melos, horror and the absurd collide. A Halloween decoration of a man hanging on fishhooks from his eyelids sat on the edge of the stage. While not “present” for this tour, fan favorite Hot Dog Man was projected on the screen behind the band (most recently featured in the Sunburn music video). Most important to the Tera Melos universe, is their unparalleled sound.
Kicking off the set, Reinhert began shredding some incredibly wonky riffs, while simultaneously manning his expansive pedal board. Without so many of these pedals, there is no way Tera Melos could achieve their unique, alien sound. After the preluding guitar freak out, the band began playing full songs. Most of the set consisted of cuts from their latest album, X’ed Out. While the songs off X’ed Out tend to be more reserved compared to older Tera Melos material, the band kicked these songs into a higher gear for a live setting. For the whole night, drummer John Clardy seemed to be adding as many fills as possible as fast as he could, while keeping up with incredibly technical rhythms. Watching Nathan Latona’s bass playing was equally exciting, watching him effortlessly walk his fingers up, down, and even off the fret board.
Tera Melos graced the audience with a couple new songs. While X’ed Out felt like Tera Melos was relatively experimenting with a more minimal sound, these new songs sound more technical, akin to Patagonian Rats. The highlight of Tera Melos’ set might have been Patagonian Rats’ single “Frozen Zoo”. Watching the process of this song being played was way more fascinating than it sounds on record. Reinhert began the song looping noisy, seemingly random riffs. Slowly these riffs began to compliment each other, forming a coherently beat and melody. That is the very essence of Tera Melos: the unsuspectingly weird coming together to create something great.
After a quick strip down between sets, Pinback came onstage without much fanfare, but for a band that’s been around for 16 years, the stage was enveloped in one of the best moods I’ve ever seen them in. Then again, if you get the chance to put on a 10th anniversary show for your third, and undoubtedly best, album, it’s hard not to be happy. Summer in Abaddon came out ten years ago as many people’s introduction to a modest, bass-heavy indie rock trio. From the catchy chorus of “Fortress” to the twisted whisper introduction of “AFK” to the drum break in “Syracuse,” Bassist-pianist Zach Smith, singer-guitarist Rob Crow, and drummer Chris Prescott played the album with a nostalgic coziness that got The Sinclair eager for more.
Before the tour, Pinback decided fans should curate the second half of their setlist. The method? Paper airplanes thrown onstage every night. Pieces of blank printer paper were folded and decorated in sharpie, the majority of which would unfold to reveal a fan’s diehard request. This wasn’t a time for “Denslow, You Idiot!” or “Penelope.” Instead, it was a chance for all those that-will-never-happens to finally happen. Smith, Crow, and Prescott practiced their discography beforehand, but nothing puts a band to the test quite like this. Armed with the usual comforts–pictures of Crow’s kids on his amp and his velcro shoes stuffed with mismatched socks–they played a myriad of songs rarely played onstage. While they launched into “Boo” or “Microtonic Wave,” paper airplanes would shoot onstage from the front row or glide down in a spiral from the balcony. One girl’s hair was a magnet for the airplanes all on its own.
There’s a strange sense of acceptance in Pinback’s music, and their open-armed setlist embraced that. It’s due to the fact that the majority of their songs frown, offering up shrugs when faced with life’s complexities. Lyrics like “Anything I say to you is gonna come out wrong anyway” from “Concrete Seconds” or “A single cheer for static is all that’s left on the phone” from “True North,” the A-side to their exclusive 7″ Black Friday EP, Information Retrieved Pt. B, are so hopeless they aren’t even depressed. Pinback don’t just know how to sigh. They know how to exhale with defeat so heavy it rustles the edges of every paper in the room. As they wrapped up the set with Tera Melos joining them for “This Train,” there was no possible way someone could leave The Sinclair upset. It was a dream come true. The hard part is just waking up knowing it’s over the next day.
