Opening up for the Cure is no small accomplishment, and after being handpicked by Robert Smith himself last year, 65daysofstatic join the list of artists that include Cranes, Mogwai, The Rapture, and Muse who have all been supporting acts. Since February, the four-piece from Sheffield, UK (noted musicians also originate from there include Def Leppard and Arctic Monkeys) has been sharing the stage with the legendary, fellow British group -- opening all their European shows, and U.S. dates.
 
65DOS as they are commonly referred to, returned to the SF Bay Area with the Cure on Wednesday night, for a second time since their appearance in October at Mountain View's Download Festival. Unlike Download, where they were the least known of the whole bill, and therefore played to a couple hundred people at the most, the HP Pavilion had a much larger audience attending its thirty-minute set -- and they weren't complaining. Cure fans began their much awaited evening -- when at 7:30 p.m. -- the ghostly, subtly eerie atmospheric affect of "Drove Through Ghosts to Get Here," perfectly befitting the name, drifted through the venue, and the band introduced themselves sans vocals. The crowd cheered their approval, and a chorus of YEAHS! punctuated the soft beginning. From a lonely piano line, and almost funeral drum like beat assisted by industrial sounds, the song stemmed and expanded into a much more driven and furious sounding composition.

Running piano, twinkling, and at times sounding almost delicate but still strong and distinct all the same, intertwined over and underneath heavy thudding drum beats and crushing guitars during a dramatic and frenzied "A Fail Safe," earning much more than a standard smattering of polite applause. Without missing a beat, heavy glitches preceded the lifting euphoric sounds of Retreat! Retreat!. The songs felt very much alive, glistening and metallic, almost hard-edged and ethereal at times, but not quite so, and with dark, grungy garage echoing around it. Electronica blended and layered perfectly within magnificently intricate guitars and drums, what 65daysofstatic has been pioneering for quite a few years now. Despite all the comparisons to Aphex Twin (which is lazy journalism!), they are, of course, not them. The band is different in so many ways to the Brit-pop that plays on today's air waves, and set apart from other math rock/prog rock/experimental bands such as Explosions in the Sky or God is an Astronaut, yet still bearing similarities to it all. Like the Cure, 65DOS, criss-cross so many different genres it's unfair to just lump them in just one like post/prog rock or something like that.

On stage, the band appeared to be thrashing in the water, and the same metaphor could easily be extended to their music. The guitarist seemed as if he was having a seizure (ok, they all did) as he manned the keyboards. The rest of the band jolted in perfect rhythm to their complex time signatures, illuminated by strobe lights -- truly creating what can be described as "glowing static." An ocean of swelling crescendos, and elements of electronica, glitch, and industrial rode waves of churning guitars with a fluid grace, and time signatures of a wild and changing sea. Guitarist, Joe-Fro's mop top flew all over the place in an entertaining way, and the drummer going all out on his percussion in a certainly interesting manner. The band channels nothing but raw energy. No matter the size of the audience, they don't hold back in volume, or stage action either. If their albums were good, then they're just exceedingly better live. This is a band that loves to perform live, and they clearly show it.

 An excellent version of "Radio Protector" was the ending number, shimmering electronic sounds layered over a tinkling piano melody soon flowing into vibrant guitars and drums that exploded into what would be a "fucking incredible ending" as one crowd member put it. Simple words, but it's the best way to describe how the set ended. It didn't matter that 65daysofstatic were little known, and that they had their share of playing to almost empty venues (those people missed out on more than just a warm up show) along the tour, the half hour set was nothing short of epic. In the end, the San Jose audience cheers, yells and loud applause signaled it. It's hard for an audience to fully appreciate an act they're seeing live for the first time without having heard any of their material before, it is unfamiliar. But the 65DOS set left them satisfied, and those thirty minutes won over new fans in the Bay Area. Some of the people in the audience had seen multiple Cure concerts this tour, and knew what to expect from 65DOS, choosing to see them each time they opened up instead of perusing merch. Many people don't respect opening bands these days and simply skip them, but there's a reason why the Cure chose the group out of all others. They're a great fit to open for such a band, because I feel that in a way, 65daysofstatic reflects the new era of the Cure, and the current, more minimal lineup.
 
The audience consisted mainly of older Cure fans, and many of them thought 65DOS was too loud - with earplugs on, you could feel the bass thumping in your chest, the engulfing sound shaking you. But that's exactly how their music is to be felt and played, LOUD. I simply got a bursting feeling in my heart as I watched and listened to them, and no it wasn't a heart attack brought on by all the danceable and head-bangable noise.
 
Complex and incredibly technical, but in no means mechanical, their music evokes an indescribable feeling -- as wide and complex as their compositions. Like their instrumental compositions, it has no words.



- Live review and photos by reader djxscribbles. This concert took place on May 28th at HP Pavillion in San Jose, CA.