(Editors’s Note: Some of the video we took went straight to our Insta feed because we shot it live and it became a ‘reel’ – read ahead for the individual links or go to our Instagram here and/or Youtube here for the goods.)
We don’t do enough of these, but that’s kind of on us – given the platform you’d expect us to be closer to the grid, and at one point we totally were. Strangely, life has us based in an obscure southwestern corner of the states after moving for potential writing credits in a docuseries that was indefinitely shelved as it was about to enter production. Ultimately, it a fascinating story, we’ll tell you all about it one day. But suffice it to say, there’s not a ton of live music out here.
Thankfully, every once in a while a cool band will roll through drivable hubs like Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. But most of the time we’re working with the ol’ math rock budget, aka lots of zeroes where we least expect, so a stoic salute from the distance is the more common solution. All this to say that when Closure in Moscow‘s camp reached out about the catching the band at their Salt Lake City show, we were all ears because we knew this one would be well worth the drive.
We’ve mentioned it elsewhere but we saw the band back in 2019 with Protest the Hero in our former stomping ground of Portland, OR. Closure in Moscow had the entire crowd in an absolute frenzy, and we’re talking a solid 150-200 people. It was a true sight to behold, but there may or may not have been some mushrooms and dabs involved, so unfortunately our memories of that show are somewhat difficult to recall. We didn’t even think to shoot any video, we were just staring all bug-eyed at the band, weeping in the back row. Maybe one day we’ll do a regression therapy session and go there? Are recreational regression sessions a thing?
If so, we’ll be reliving both shows for a long time – they killed it then, and they’re killing it again now – here’s how it all went down:
First up was No Such Animal, who we were unfamiliar with entirely but excited to see based on their name. It turned out the band puts on a hell of a show, even with the limited space of the Urban Lounge stage. It’s not the smallest we’ve seen, and honestly the show sounded incredible in every dynamic for every band, so before we forget, huge props to the sound guy as well. That said, No Such Animals’ sound was definitely closer to the alternative rock and post-grunge shred of bands like Silverchair, Chevelle, and Breaking Benjamin than we would have it expected, so it made for a huge contrast in the show. When all was said and done, it was a good fit for the gig and really got the crowd going.
After them was Toehider, who left a massive mark on our subconscious that night with their highly prog-y, densely calculated runs. The sheer intensity of some moments had us thinking of 3 Inches of Blood, The Darkness, and Dethklok, but we definitely hear the Devin Townsend influence as well that Closure in Moscow’s Chris De Cinque mentioned in our recent interview. The guitarist and drummer were demonically fast and impeccably accurate throughout, and Toehider’s vocalist exhibited a range that truly went toe-to-toe with titans of old school metal like Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford. Oh, and he was shredding the bass the entire time. It was a lot to take in, but we’re ecstatic that we managed to do so. The crowd was dumbfounded, but absolutely stoked – we haven’t listened to the records yet, but we’re excited to get on the train and see where it goes from here. We should have taken more normal video, but you can see some footage here on the gram.
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Finally, applause overtakes the crowd as the lovely, long-awaited Closure in Moscow takes the stage. They open with one of our favorite songs off of Soft Hell, “Jaeger Bomb,” which was truly amplified by both the size of the room and the excitement of the people in it. You can see it / feel it here. Also, whoever is hooking up Closure in Moscow with all of these bizarre guitars needs a raise – never in my life have a seen a Stratocaster with a single pickup, particularly in the middle position, but maestro Michael Barrett was there rocking one.
The band continued to tear through their discography like the pack of whimsical wolves they are, and it turns out we were actually witnessing the act in a perfect environment. The venue wasn’t massive, and there wasn’t a ton of room for the band to bounce around, but they didn’t need it – De Cinque masterfully kept the audience entranced with his commanding yet casual presence and high-visibility Ikea socks. He also interacted and danced with band constantly – it might seem like an odd tangent, but those little moments are great to see because it’s one thing to be pro, but it’s another to enjoy yourself and your bandmates on stage. Watching them build up the chemistry while jamming out with eye contact, physical cues, and laughter inspired everyone in that room to fully enjoy the moment.
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Another notable highlight was seeing them play songs like “Lovelash” and “Don Juan Triumphant” from Soft Hell, gems that narrowly skew traditional pop structures to create some of catchiest Closure in Moscow material to date. Of course they chopped in some old favorites too like “Kissing Cousins,” “Sweet#hart,” and “Pink Lemonade,” each performance fully competing their respective album takes. That’s no easy feat considering each of Closure in Moscow’s records offer damn near recorded perfection, yet somehow the boys managed to squeeze even more humanity from the songs with subtle variations in the vocal lines, guitar parts, and more. Check out this absolutely smashing version of “Happy Days” for proof.
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As the show came to a close, our hearts were entirely stuffed and our minds fully inspired. While we sadly left before the band came out and hung out with everyone for a bit, we had gotten more than our money’s worth and needed to take it all in. The magic of the performance is still rubbing off on us – good music is great medicine, and seeing these shaman in action provided a healing buff we didn’t know we needed. The band just finished the last run of the Soft Hell Tour, but we have a feeling they’ll be back again soon.
We can’t wait.
(Thanks for reading! If you’re looking for more music, check out our Bandcamp compilations here. If you like us, or possibly even love us, donations are always appreciated at the Buy Me A Coffee page here, but if you’re in a generous mood you can also donate to folks like Doctors Without Borders, PCRF, and Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, as they could probably use it more. Thanks again!)