Show Review

Tera Melos Date: March 26th 2007 Venue: The Boardwalk (Orangevale, CA) In my opinion, a great live show is a function of many variables: venue, musicianship, equipment, stage presence, sound, crowd dynamic, etc.  While I am no expert on acoustics, stage equipment, mob behavior, music theory, or even (some may criticize) “good” music, I do know that after witnessing live the trio known as Tera Melos, I was left with an impression that is sure to stay with me for years to come.     Hailing from nearby Roseville, CA, these local music whizzes immediately captivated the audience from their volatile opening notes.  While it can probably be argued that most attended the evening’s proceedings to witness the aural insanity of headlining act Daughters, the majority of the audience was noticeably taken aback by the intensity of Tera Melos’ sound and stage presence.  With only three members, the band emitted a surprisingly full resonance, utilizing spoken samples at various interludes and intros.  While it was slightly hard to discern the separate melodies, partly due to the fact that their songs frequently blend together and that they have no names other than Melody #1, Melody #2, etc, the band effortlessly composed a discordant live set akin maybe only to local avant-garde wizards Hella, though much better.   Far and away the highlight of the band’s set and the entire evening was simply watching guitarist/keyboardist Nick’s spastic finger-tapping elasticity and ferocious keyboard plucking and sweeping, usually at the same time.  In all honesty, the only way to do justice as to what I witnessed at the hands of Nick on this evening is simply to see it for your self.  Imagine intense finger-tapping with one hand while madly striking at the keyboard with the other and you can begin to visualize the multi-tasking that took place. Sometimes beautiful, spacey and melodic, at others spastic and intricate, these guys flat out rock.  With a description that reads “A fusion of jazz and ambient techno with hardcore punk, Tera Melos is a head on collision of Cap’N Jazz with the aggressiveness of Black Flag, combined with an extremely energetic and, often times borderline dangerous live show”, how can one go wrong?  Go to a live show, try on a bit of Tera Melos and see for your self.  PHOTOS Author: Chris Hodge Photography: Chris Hodge [ Back to Shows Index ]