Sex Church | Shadowhouse | Silent Numbers @ Punx Haus | 3/20 | $5 (donation) | All Ages
It is getting close to Spring again, and that means that it is once again time for music scenes of all kinds to pick up, including Portland’s very healthy DIY punk/rock/metal scene. The middle of the week features a couple shows which should rock their neighborhoods, starting on Wednesday near PSU with Vancouver dark-wave/punk act Sex Church, joined by locals Shadowhouse and Silent Numbers.
Sex Church have been nursing quite a reputation in Vancouver since their inception. Known as one of the cities least positive punk bands, their music is an amalgamation of the Velvet Underground, Joy Division, and Rudimentary Penii. Apparently the inspiration for a lot of the music comes from a negative head space, but that probably won’t keep anyone attending this show from expressing themselves physically, something the band may do themselves as well. Vancouver is exporting a lot of decent punk these days (see: Nu Sensae, White Lung) so the chance to see a band that just opened up for Pink Mountaintops at house in Portland seems necessary for music afficianados.
The middle of the night will find Portland’s Shadowhouse most likely impressing the crowd with their generally morose but very pretty songs. The motto is apparently “Play Loud, Dance Slow” and listening to some of their music one can understand why, their is a depth of feeling and expression behind the sounds that doesn’t permit for thrashing about or going nuts, and that is perfectly fine.
The opening band of the night, The Silent Numbers, will set the tone with impressively dark melodies and more moody songs, and in fact they combine some of the influences of both of the bands that will follow them and pay homage to those influences in different ways, being at times just as focus on melody as Shadowhouse and other times channeling the gloomy feelings of Sex Church. The Silent Numbers are an apt opener and a good reason to show up on time.
