I spotted a guy this morning wearing a shirt that said “Good Vibes” across the front and I don’t quite know why, but it made me chuckle a bit.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not in any way opposed to good vibes. In fact, I’m all for them. But wearing a shirt like that is kind of like walking around all day with a “Live Laugh Love” poster pasted to your chest. But it did get me thinking about the fact that people could potentially experience good vibes in a myriad of ways, including at a noise rock show. And on Thursday night, Cherubs did just that, bringing some good (albeit noisy) vibes to The Baby G.
The Austin noise rockers got their start back in the early ’90s, releasing a couple of classics of the genre before breaking up in 1994. They reunited in 2014 and have been going pretty strong ever since, with the band currently on tour in advance of the release of a remixed and remastered edition of their 1992 debut Icing (out on August 4th via Brutal Panda Records).
After an entertaining opening set by locals Shrewd, Cherubs took to the stage and wasted no time in laying down some blistering noise rock full of thick, sludgy riffs and hard-hitting drums. For his part, singer/guitarist Kevin Whitley kept the stage banter to a minimum, aside from the occasional “alright, then” before launching into the next tune. But he didn’t need to say much – it was clear the band were enjoying themselves up there, as was the crowd at The Baby G.
All in all, Cherubs put on an intense performance and the crowd responded in kind, with a few right up front getting particularly enthusiastic and proving that, yes, you can in fact dance to noise rock … kind of.
Good vibes indeed.