A few years back, I nonchalantly wondered into a local gay bar where a handful of drag queens were raising money for one of the club regulars’ sick dog. Believe it or not, the night got blissfully weirder. Following a set from the local headliners, the crowd dwindled considerably but suddenly the bar seemed to start rumbling. The final act of the night, Cleveland’s This Moment In Black History, had just hit the stage and for the next 40 minutes or so, I witnessed one of the most memorable live performances I have ever seen. TMIBH’s recorded music (particularly its latest release, Public Square) is almost as explosive as its live barrage, a punch-drunk mix of relentless Punk and Post Punk with some of the finest lyrics you’ll ever read from a Rock band, a wildly imaginative guitar player, a thundering, impossibly tight rhythm section, an old fuzzy vintage synth and singer Chris Kulcsar’s wild-eyed vocal assault. But when the songs are played live, something almost supernatural seems to happen — the musicians mind-lock intensely as Kulcsar (an excellent frontman with a great dry sense of humor) vaults his body … well, everywhere. You’d be hard pressed to find a band working today that is this powerfully entertaining, putting on the kind of visceral live show where you’ll have to be a bit more on your toes than usual — there’s no telling what you might get hit with (a pint glass, light fixtures, the lead singer), proving danger still has a vital place in Rock & Roll.
The criminally underrated “Art Punk” foursome plays Down Under Saturday with fellow Clevelanders Sun God.
