Rusted Shut
(Houston, TX)


pic:

website: http://www.myspace.com/rustedshuthouston
LISTEN

RUSTED SHUT UPSTAGES UNSANE

Noise rock is pure Texas: loud, intense, often funny, smarter than it first seems and occasionally obnoxious. Well, often obnoxious by design, frankly. But its devout fans wouldn't have it any other way. The small room at Emo's became a temple of noise Sunday night when fans came out for a set by legendary New York noise rockers Unsane. Honorary Austinites as much as any New Yorkers can be, the final iteration of Unsane — founding guitarist Chris Spencer, drummer Vinnie Signorelli and bassist Dave Curran — used to play here at the time, and it was a reunion show at Emo's two years ago that prompted the band's current reunion.

Young, local noise merchants These Men Are Liars opened the concert. Their screaming pound resembled the sort of classic, early '90s buzzsaw howl the Minneapolis record label Amphetamine Reptile made infamous. So far, so good.

But then: Rusted Shut. This amazing Houston quartet has been clearing rooms, sinuses and earwax for nearly 20 years. Sporting a deeply hideous guitar tone, good-natured misanthropy (sample song title: "Kill Kill Kill") and a vibe of chaos manipulation, Rusted Shut has made Austin its home away from home. We love them and we love to have our hair reparted by them. Someone give them a weekly happy-hour gig, please.

The evening's only true disappointment was Unsane tour mates the Blackfire Revelation, whose overdriven, guitar-drums blues-sludge never quite moved or swung (even sludge should swing if the blues are involved). Now, following Rusted Shut is a tall order for anyone, but Revelation's set simply dragged — overloud, overlong and oversold.

Unsane was greeted like Ulysses returning to Greece, and the band obliged with a powerful, gnarly set. Still, the evening belonged to Rusted Shut. I'm really not kidding about that residency, folks. Just think of the tagline: "Rusted Shut brings you Austin's unhappiest hour." — Joe Gross

Press Photo Credit: