Whereas most bands nurse hangovers on Saturday mornings, the dudes in RIBS spent the one before their tour kickoff party at Home Depot, wandering the tall aisles of suburban fix-it wonderland in search of multi-colored floodlights and thin, four-foot-long fluorescent bulbs.
The result of this shopping spree was a dizzying display of radiant visuals May 5 at Great Scott, with RIBS kicking off a 10-date East Coast trek on Cinco de Mayo. Aside from the constant threat of Patrón shots at the bar, the night featured nary a nod to the feels-kinda-racist Mexican holiday. I mean, who has time for faux sombreros and worms tickling the throats of drunken Allstonian college students when there’s a debut tour to launch?
Since being featured in our Class of 2011 local-music package in January, RIBS have established themselves as a powerful force on the Boston music circuit, paving an uneasy middle ground between our indie and metal scenes through sharp, pulsating electo-industrial rips that make a greater impact on stage. Awash in red, blue, and glaring hospital-room whites that visually sterilized the Great Scott crowd (in perhaps an unflattering glare), firecracker tracks “Please Don’t Go” and “Even” screamed out from the shadows like the soundtrack to a hazy Ketamine trip at the late-night planetarium.
The whole experience was almost too much for a mid-sized rock club like Great Scott, with rows of bright lights stretching along the walls and ceiling back toward the soundbooth and bar area. New enough to be nominated for Best New Act in this year’s Best Music Poll, RIBS are just screaming for larger stages and higher ceilings. Currently lost somewhere in the Carolinas shining a blinding strobe on Southern showgoers, they’re a band worth getting excited about.
Upon returning home next week, RIBS hope to start recording Russian Blood, the follow-up to January’s Locrian Singles. The glare promises to shine even brighter.
LINK: http://thephoenix.com/Boston/music/120438-out-ribs-shine-through-a-strobe-in-allston-kick-/
Tags: Boston Phoenix, Spring 2011 Tour