Temperatures reached all the way up into the low 40’s on Tuesday January 10th, so I figured I’d better get out of the house for a while. It had been far too long since I’d seen a show at my favorite local venue, The Pyramid Scheme in downtown Grand Rapids, MI. Unfortunately, the warmer temperatures also brought 50 mile per hour winds and driving rain. I was one of only a few who dared venture out. On the plus side, I got an awesome parking spot right across the street from the bar.

I got there just in time to grab a beer before Detroit madmen Child Bite took the stage. This was a one off show for the band, and they were headed south immediately afterward for a major tour with Superjoint and Battlecross. When the punk/metal/noise quartet started, there were seven of us up front. Eventually the crowd swelled to three or four times that size. It was obvious that many in the audience were there specifically to see CB. Those of us present were treated to an intense half hour made up mostly of material from Child Bite’s excellent 2016 LP Negative Noise including “Vermin Mentality”, “The Great Ego Flood”, “Video Blood” and “Born a Hog”. If the size of the crowd bothered the band, it was not reflected in their performance. I really like this band and I highly encourage you to check them out.

Washington based solo artist Core J Brewer was touring with GodheadSilo, and I must admit to being completely ignorant of his music. When he started setting up, I knew we were in for something different. He was wearing a white button up dress shirt, dark dress pants, and a knee length overcoat. He was even clean shaven and had a normal haircut. He looked a bit like he’d just left his office job. (The rest of the bands looked considerably rougher around the edges.) His “˜band’ was a suitcase full of electronics that he was able to manipulate in various ways. At first it seemed like pure noise, but then you started to be able to pick out the songs. It might have been something like listening to Depeche Mode through blown out speakers. It’s not really my thing, but it was OK for 30 minutes or so.

I’m not all that knowledgeable about GodheadSilo, even though I’ve been aware of them forever. Apparently they started out in Fargo, ND more than 25 years ago. After relocating to Olympia, WA, they made records for Kill Rock Stars and Sub Pop. They consist of bassist/vocalist Mike Kunka and drummer Dan Haugh and they were a two piece band way before it was cool. They had been on hiatus from 1998 to 2015 due to Haugh having a very serious hand injury. More recently, Kunka had played bass on the Melvins album Three Men and a Baby. I wasn’t surprised to find that I had a GodheadSilo record in my collection. (It’s Elephantitus of the Night, a 1994 compilation on Kill Rock Stars.) They play noisy, droney punk and metal that is very much in the vein of what Amphetamine Reptile was putting out in the 90’s.

Twenty years later, their shows look like a gathering of graying beards. (For proof of this, see both members of GodheadSilo, Child Bite singer Shawn Knight and yours truly.) It was very intimate, so it was interesting to watch the two guys interact with one another. They joked and poked fun in what seemed like a genuinely warm manner. They were also able to converse with individual members of the audience without even needing microphones. The early songs had a fair amount of vocals, but the majority of the set was largely instrumental. For about 55 minutes they pounded out sludgy, rhythmic noise. It was impressive how much sound they could get from pummeling just two instruments. I wish more people had been there to see it. GodheadSilo was quite hypnotic, and ultimately quite satisfying.