I got to see the Boredoms a few nights ago. I can’t really count how long I’ve been looking forward to seeing them. Five years? Maybe more. At any rate, it’s pointless to try to poeticize their magic; they’re one of those bands that leaves me completely intrigued but almost totally inarticulate as to why. Some kind of holistic unity/communion/gorgeous telepathy aspect, completely spellbinding, almost transcendent.

One thing I was struck by in a live context is how much musical ground the band covers/evokes with their three drummer/one Eye + electronics setup, and how much they’ve superimposed so many styles’ topographical idiosyncracies. Aside from the futuro-Krautrock temple grooves, there were all these organicized club jams, reggae breaks, sprayed jazz, flashes of samba. Drum & bass was an especially interesting color, a rhythm that grew out of technological capability getting turned back into a hands and feet extravaganza, totally dazzling. Eye reminded me of a cross between an orchestral conductor and a Jamaican toaster/deejay; even though he seemed weirdly out of the drummers’ circle, his presence and occasional direction seemed so crucial, like the head of a Voltronic bliss machine. Did I just say that? Shit, shit carries me away.