After the bitter, sub-zero temperatures and polar vertexes swept through the city, this weekend’s warmer weather didn’t provide complete relief. The still-frozen ground and heavy rainfall ended up invoking even more headaches as the conditions caused moderate flooding. Among the victims was The Revenge Society, whom lost a few pedals when its practice space filled with some unwanted water. Despite the missing effects, the brash, melodic, post-punk four-piece burned through an effective, powerful set at the Down and Over on Saturday night.
With only two brief EPs under its collective belt, The Revenge Society may not have an expansive discography thus far, but the limited output has been reliably solid. Lead singer Amber Ruthe’s precise, howling vocals belie the sinister temperament positioned underneath the surface. “A monster has been loosed on the world/ Beware of the effect it will have on you,” Ruthe snarls on the first lines of the opening track off Wolves on Parade, released this past December. Like some ’80s horror movie where a teen takes off her top before getting axed to death, The Revenge Society juxtaposes raw sexuality with a vicious killing streak. It should be no surprise that Ruthe embodies Jeffrey Dahmer on the skin-crawlingly morbid yet nonetheless catchy on the following track “Six Feet of Shade.”
The band delivered a cunning live performance, and didn’t come off as terrifying as its source material. Deftly speaking around the extended tuning breaks—the delay owed to a flood damaged pedal—The Revenge Society appeared laidback and amicable and not the tattered souls its music suggests. The only shame was that the show took place in the overwhelmingly spacious Down and Over. While the show was sufficiently attended, the crowd remained far too spread out. The big room didn’t do any favors for the lacking sound quality, either. It’s no doubt a band this forceful would sound scores better in the cozier confines of a venue like Quarters. Even so, The Revenge Society is coming off quite a hot streak and seems poised to have an excellent year ahead.
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Also on the bill, The Polyps celebrated its three-year anniversary of reviving iconic ’90s grunge and slack rock, The Violet Hour said farewell to its fervent guitarist Joel Martin, and The Ingots helped fuel its thrashing set with an inspired cover of Primus’ “Too Many Puppies.”
