by JOHNSON CUMMINS

Okay, we had a lot of great shows happen last week so let’s have a quick review. Ballast played at Barfly before heading off on a European tour, and blasted through some great punk rock with a singer and drummer who hopefully will help garner them more attention in town. The following night, Comets On Fire returned to town at la Sala and, although I missed both openers, the room was still abuzz from the

Donkeys’ psych/hard rock onslaught when I stepped in the door. If you get a chance to see the Donkeys, do it—it’s funny, trippy and heavy all at the same time. Despite COF’s new record Avatar being far mellower than the previous Blue Cathedral and Field Recordings From the Sun, they hardly pulled any punches live, and sheared everyone’s face off. Hawkwind oscillations ruled the mix as the band caved my head in with some fierce jams.

Probably the greatest triple bill making the touring rounds right now pulled into the Spectrum last week, and was easily the best show I have seen this year. The Bronx, Converge and Mastodon were all incredible, but at least at this show, Mastodon were simply unbeatable. The Bronx started things off with their Rocket From the Crypt-meets-Black Flag sound and were even better than their last time through town with High on Fire. “Shitty Future” was great, as were other songs off of their new self-titled record, like “History’s Stranglers,” but unfortunately, they shit the bed by including their blatant single “White Guilt” in the set list, which seemed to go over like a fart in an elevator with the roomful of Mastodon and Converge fans. Hit singles aside, the Bronx are a fucking great band and, despite being the obvious black sheep on the bill, easily stood their ground.

Converge were as devastatingly precise as ever. With a set list concentrating mainly on the Jane Doe and You Fail Me records, they managed to pull out a couple off their next record, to be released Oct. 29. Despite their obvious disdain for large venues and the mandatory barricade, Converge delivered a relentless pummelling, proving that these Bostonians are indeed the future of punk rock.

If Converge are the future of punk, then surely Mastodon represent the future of metal. I had my doubts that they’d be able to rise to the occasion after Converge finished one of the best sets I’ve seen this year, but they actually managed to raise the bar with songs from Call of the Mastodon, Leviathan and the recent Blood Mountain. “The Wolf Is Loose,” “Capillarian Crest,” “Bladecatcher” and “Circle of Cysquatch” all took on new elements in the live setting, and watching this four-piece pull off all the quirky time signatures and impossible prog sections was simply not of this Earth.

I AM AHAB… jonathan.cummins@gmail.com

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