Photos: A Place to Bury Strangers at The Lanes Bristol
Photos and words from noisy post-punk/shoegaze band A Place to Bury Strangers' gig at The Lanes Bristol, Sunday 21st May 2023
It’s May, and Brooklyn-based band A Place to Bury Strangers have just played a few dates supporting Gary Newman in the US & Canada, before embarking on their “Nothing Left to Destroy” UK/EU tour. Bristol was early up on the 22-gig long tour, and it was the band’s first time in the city since 2017.
At APTBS’ core is guitarist/vocalist Oliver Ackerman, who is also the founder of the effects pedal company Death By Audio. Notably, a lot of the band’s gear is DBA equipment, and it was really cool to see that they brought a bunch of pedals on tour with them to sell at the merch stand (I definitely would have bought something if I had the money).
The UK part of the tour was supported by Camilla Sparksss, who had an intriguing setup of two turntables, a mixer, a mic, a keyboard and some effects pedals. It’s an inspired set that merges noise pop with atmospheric coldwave, and I can’t recall ever seeing a live set quite like it.
APTBS open their set with new track Disgust, it’s full of energy and it takes Ackerman no time to jump into the crowd and start playing there. The band seamlessly transition into Ocean, which is a beautiful blend of dreamy post-punk and feedback drenched shoegaze. You can hear some of the influences of APTBS in their music, from the dark post-punk of The Cure, to My Bloody Valentine’s ethereal shoegaze, to Les Rallizes Dénudés’ psychedelic noise rock. It makes for an alluring auditory experience.
We’ve Come So Far follows and it’s a scorcher, driven by the energetic drums of Sandra Fedowitz and bassist/partner John Fedowitz, who both joined the band in 2021. The duo also play in the shoegaze band Ceremony, whilst John Fedowitz had previously played alongside Oliver Ackerman in pre-ABTBS band Skywave.
In Your Head from the band’s sophomore album Exploding Head is next. I can’t remember exactly when Ackerman began throwing his guitar in the air and swinging it around by its cable, but it must’ve been by now. It’s a captivating spectacle.
It’s worth noting the band’s lighting setup: several projectors are dotted around the stage, each strobing to create one hell of a light show. It lends itself completely to APTBS’ artistic aesthetic all the while entrancing everyone in the crowd.
Approaching the midway point of the set comes Dragged in a Hole, featured on their 6th and most recent LP, 2022’s See Through You (their first to be recorded with the new lineup). You Are The One is the last track before the band disappear into the crowd, a common escapade for the band at their gigs.
In the crowd Ackerman has a mic and a 4-track cassette recorder (and no doubt some other gear that I couldn’t make out), John Fedowitz has his bass and Sandra Fedowitz has just a snare and a floor tom. It’s a primitive yet enthralling setup, the band jam for a while in the center of the crowd in almost complete darkness, only illuminated by the phone torches of various crowd members.
Once the band reemerge onto the stage its back to frenzied guitar swinging and abrasive noise-making, but not before Sandra brings out a candlelit cake on stage for John’s birthday. With gig goers rearranged into new positions, the band crack on with End of the Night and I Disappear (When You’re Near), followed by fan-favourite I Lived My Life To Stand In The Shadow Of Your Heart.
Having earned the description of “New York’s loudest band”, there’s perhaps no better track to prove that than the final song of the set Have You Ever Been in Love. Screeching feedback and amps turned up to 11 a la Spinal Tap, Ackerman pushes the band to near implosion. All the while he’s disconnecting each projector around the stage, one by one, until the audience is left experiencing this aural attack in the dark.
This is one of those gigs where you know you’ve experienced something special; a unique live experience that most bands could only dream of producing. Through abrasive fuzz and reverberated distortion, paired with striking visuals and crowd interaction, A Place To Bury Strangers put on a show that you’d be a fool to miss.
[More photos below]
Setlist:
Disgust
Ocean
We've Come So Far
In Your Heart
Dragged in a Hole
You Are the One
(electronic crowd jam)
End of the Night
I Disappear (When You’re Near)
I Lived My Life to Stand in the Shadow of Your Heart
Have You Ever Been in Love
Words and photos by @shebayashica