As of recent, the stage at The Strutt here in Kalamazoo has endured some of the most sonically intense performances this city has hosted in many years, and Friday night was no exception.

Spykes is the one-man project from Michigan’s very own John Olson, best known as a long-time member of Wolf Eyes.  He took to the stage shortly after 9 p.m. with his gear mounted onto a double-decker shopping cart that was decorated (or so it first appeared) with various springs.  He started by creating buzzy drones with his sampler, but shortly into the set, Olson began yanking at the springs, creating a harsh, distorted snap soaked in reverberation from the cart itself.  Yes, he was playing the shopping cart which his electronics were resting in.  A wooden stick was produced to strike and rake at the cart and springs.  At times he was very hands-on and involved with the objects, at other moments he would take a step back, sip a beer, and take in his own sounds, seeming to ascertain where he was at in the set and contemplate where to go next, quite a magical solo performance to witness.

With their gear all ready resting behind Olson, Kalamazoo locals Rotten Wood Moon immediately took to the stage once the shopping cart was set aside.  Returning to the line-up for this performance was Joshua Tabbia (Problems That Fix Themselves!), in from Chicago, and the classic quartet (no guest performers as is common with RWM shows) launched into an epic, nearly-20 minute crawl of bass-driven noise rock comparable to “Jane from Occupied Europe”-era Swell Maps that was shaken and stirred a bit differently in the dynamics department for anyone who has caught previous RWM sets.  But to keep things honest and brief, it fuckin’ rocked!

Next was D. Rider, hailing from Chicago, and boy, were they a strange mix of sound.  I’m not even sure where to begin.  Urban funk post-punk?  Dual organs on either side of the stage supplied much of the instrumental drive, sax and horns occasionally entered the fold and bopped and squawked, the guitars were deconstructed rock riffs, male/female vocals aplenty. Some moments were solid and nearly dancy thanks to a tight percussionist, while at other times the arrangements were caterwauling and removed from a basic rock ‘n’ roll rhythm/structure. I really wouldn’t know where to begin drawing comparisons. Quite the head trip to both watch and listen, but with a band that likely took their name from a song on Hawkwind’s classic space rock masterpiece “Hall of the Mountain Grill,” ya know they’re comin’ from a weird place!

Each act up to this point in the night had been drastically different from one another while still maintaining a common thread, and that was no different with Canadian headliners AIDS Wolf, the most extreme into the boundaries of where instruments can take us to an uncomfortable place found at The Strutt on this particular night.  The drum and guitar rhythm section, supplied by Yannick Desranleau and Alex Moskos respectively, was massive, frantic, spastic, and LOUD!  Vocalist Chloe Lum walked off the stage to the floor amongst the crowd and put on quite a performance; not so much aggressive as the music itself, she seemed in more of a trance, often vocalizing with the mic firmly grasped by only her mouth, sending her vocal shrapnel down the ears of all those in attendance.  She was wearing an Arab On Radar shirt, perhaps the most comparable band to the delicious sonic frenzy created by this trio.  Paranoid, pained and party!  Get your catharsis on!