The Hunt @ Wierd

My favorite band of brothers eschewed their guitar-bass-drums lineup for the thrash of synthesizers, keys and a lone lead guitar, making a much anticipated minimal wave debut last night at Wierd.

The transformation was strange but ultimately quite rewarding. Although some songs didn't make an easy transition into the new musical milieu, the last two tracks of the night were explosive and romantic, electrified by the heretofore unknown pleasures of former lead guitarist Christian Count's analog mastery. Everything aligned when Singer J. Vigil, animated and impassioned as ever, began to sing "Scripts." The soundscape swelled with an epic grandeur to match the melancholic chorus ("I love the ones who leave me/Leave the ones who love me") and it became a dark synth masterpiece, even surpassing its original rock 'n' roll incarnation. The Hunt's first single, "1,000 Nights," followed to finish off the set, with the punk raucousness of wide-legged stances and steely glances in Revel Hotel-er Frankie Teardrop's intense keyboard performance and former bass guitarist Mike O'Brian's stoic focus as he sliced through the synthetic fog with the song's unforgettable lead riff. And so The Hunt begins...again.