The Blood Brothers performed their seesawing blend of hardcore punk and melodic thrash to an enthusiastic crowd last Thursday at Club Congress. The five members took the stage with little fanfare before launching into a frantic version of "Trash Flavored Trash" from recent release Crimes.
The song moved the crowd into action with its crashing drums and squealing guitar, while singers Jordan Blilie and Johnny Whitney could have cut glass with their fiery howls and shrieks.
The band was surprisingly social as Blilie consistently thanked the audience and even recounted past performances in Tucson. This led to a rather amusing story concerning a "little art gallery" (Solar Culture) the band played owned by "a guy with a funny hat" (owner Steven Eye) who kindly told the band that "he doesn't usually let bands like them perform at his art space."
As the band ripped into a ferocious version of "Teen Heat" and whipped the crowd into a frenzy, it became obvious why they may not be tailor-made for art galleries.
The band displayed their versatility consistently through the show, most notably on "Peacock Skeleton with Crooked Feathers," with Whitney effortlessly shifting from singing at the keyboard to screaming and jumping around the stage. Meanwhile, guitarist Cody Votolato mirrored Whitney's multitasking efforts, shifting from maracas to guitar and back again.
As the band moved through their set, the audience became more and more restless until, literally, push came to shove and someone set off the alarmed emergency exit. As the building's siren wailed for the last few songs of the set, it seemed an appropriate addition to the already chaotic music coming from onstage.
The band closed their set with a tremendous rendition of slow builder "Love Rhymes with Hideous Car Wreck." As Blilie and Whitney fought to tug every yell from their throats, the band's apocalyptic noise backed them perfectly. As The Blood Brothers left the stage, the audience left the venue searching to regain their balance. The seesaw had stopped, but they were still dizzy.