“We’re happy to make some fucked up noise in front of you , and that’s it.” Peter Prescott announced from the Bug Jar stage amid Minibeast’s set on May 14. And that was it, but what it was, was quite an emphatic capital-I capital-T IT.
Prescott, of Mission of Burma fame, fronts the band on guitar, spoken-word vocals and keys and electronics. He provided a healthy dose of oddball rock pomp, while “behind” him was a motoring rock n roll master class being laid down by Keith Seidel on drums and Pete Weiss on bass.
A brief spacey assembling of powers morphed directly from their soundcheck. As the three aligned, they launched into “Town Cryer,” with echoing howls, a rollicking tribal hunt-like beat and emphatic bass strums. Prescott jumped off the stage to momentarily become the fan, coaxing on his band mates with excited screams, arms outstretched into the air. The game was afoot.
The ball of energy continued on “Exclusive,” Seidel hitting the skins with every intention of smashing right through them, and Weiss jumping up and down getting full leverage on the bass strings. Hectic and wild.
The setlist ran over the full length of their catalog, and even beyond, featuring a couple brand new tunes, Prescott reading lyrics from his spiral bound notebook. “X-ing,” played for the first time live, reached into dark and cosmically weird spaces with looping electronics and samples. Weiss eventually took the reins with some exhilarating high-flying bass runs.
The set closing “On Ice” stretched it’s legs for a final gnash of teeth that had Minibeast feasting on all of it’s spoils. More of the goods from all three, one last time to feed. Screams, blistering bass, blitzing drums. The crowd left fully sated at the table of rock. And IT was good.
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