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Los Angeles, CA- Los Angeles-based experimental metal/noise/punk outfit Qui kicked off the Dead Cross “redo” concert at the El Rey on August 22, 2017. While this band has been around since 2000, this was the first time I got to hear their music.
Having impressed Mike Patton and Greg Werckman back in 2006 at a South by Southwest showcase, they were signed to Ipecac and released their full-length debut, Love’s Miracle, on September 11, 2007. Though the band has morphed from a trio to a duo, Paul Christensen (drum and vocals) and Matt Cronk (guitar and vocals) have continued to record new music and have released a subsequent album, “Life, Water, Living…”, a 2016 five-track EP “How To Get Ideas” and most recently a collaborative project with Trevor Dunn.
With just a drum kit and a guitar, Qui dropped some serious noise on the El Rey. It was loud and aggressively playful with sonics that surprised me in that it was compellingly lush despite the absence a bass guitar or other instruments. Yes, it’s minimalist at it’s core, but even Pavaroitti’s lone voice could fill a vast concert hall, and Qui’s arrangements took full advantage of everything their instruments could put out, and it was pretty bad ass.
Their music probably fits into the “aggressively eclectic” niche that fans of Mr. Bungle (one of Mike Patton’s free form rock projects that Trevor Dunn was also a member of) would appreciate with their mid-song genre changing and relentless changes of tempo and themes. Luckily, I’m a big Mr. Bungle fan, so their music was pretty much right up my ally. While I haven’t listened to their earlier records yet- which featured the vocals of Jesus Lizard frontman David Yow- I’m more interested to see and hear what these guys have in store for us going forward. Who are Qui? I’m looking forward to finding out.
Follow Qui on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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LIVE CLIPS
Qui at The El Rey 8/22/17. Thoughts and pics coming soon. pic.twitter.com/TEBsxhboyZ
— Derrick K. Lee (@methodman13) September 12, 2017
