Beings
With Davila 666 and Artime
Bardot Miami
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Better Than: The set that the band experienced. All three members kept shrugging and apologizing between songs. But everything sounded great from where we were standing.
Last night, South Florida rock trio Beings played its final show. The performance came after a sudden announcement, attracting a moderately sized crowd of local artists, bands, bloggers and other assorted creative types, who all turned out to pay their respects to the group's brief yet productive two-year run.
While we applaud Bardot's sound system and intimate floor stage, the ambiance doesn't exactly scream rock show. And the drinks are, relative to a rock budget, really expensive.
If it weren't Beings' last show, the band's presence on the bill may have been novel. But as this was its final live performance, one couldn't help wishing that the gig was happening at Churchill's Pub or some small, raucous house party.
However, the opening slot worked to the group's advantage, as the deliberate, Beings-seeking audience had amassed by the assigned 10:30 p.m. start time. Though visibly grimacing and constantly commenting on the sound, Beings sounded great. Volume and spatial acoustics were in perfect alignment and really revealed the subtle touches in a set from a band that, on the surface, banks on speed and intensity. The galloping punk numbers popped and the '90s stoner rock numbers exuded a pleasant warmth.
Someone else grabbed the setlist, but the band performed much (if not all) of its self-titled CD, as well as some new music that elaborated on the group's distinctly non-experimental yet sufficiently innovative and -- most importantly -- fun-oriented rock.
It's a shame we won't be hearing from Beings ever again.
The Crowd: Beings fans.
Overheard in the Crowd: "EVERRRRRR!," shouted by a crowd of people after Beings singer-guitarist Ivan leaned into the mic and said, "Last song."
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