
Any night you can catch two bands that perform as if they know they’re dying tomorrow is a good night. Le Butcherettes and Antemasque did just this on Tuesday night at the Middle East Club. Both freshly touring new albums, Teri Gender Bender of Le Butcherettes set the tone, howling, growling, and snarling her wide range of pitches from Cry for the Flies between two microphones placed across the stage. Contorting her body as though being exorcised, she charged down the side stage ramp, twirled around a pole, and crawled the beer-sticky floors of the club. Popping up to startle surprised/excited fans and screech at them, she was a feral scavenger claiming everyone in her path.
The momentum wasn’t wasted as Antemasque followed up with their debut self-titled work. Cedric Bixler-Zavala stormed on stage bellowing like a madman with rompous dance moves that James Brown would approve of. His At The Drive-In and The Mars Volta compatriot Omar Rodriguez Lopez stirred and shuffled heavily while strumming his guitar hallucinations. The heels of his shoes were withered threads as a result. The complex set kept everyone drooling and dancing until there was no more sweat to be shared. No band members died the next day either, so it was a total success.