Last month (actually, month before last by now) I got to see Agalloch at Maryland Deathfest. I mean that quite literally - even from where I was standing, toward the back of the crowd, I could see the stage quite clearly. I could hear them, too, in a general sense - but there was so much chatter around me, it was impossible to get into their ethereal atmospheric sound. My main impression of their set at MDF was the stage bathed in blue-green light, and how fitting that was.
So I was pretty excited when plans were made and it seemed I'd have the chance to see them again - and hopefully actually hear them this time - at Empire. Unfortunately, plans changed, I had to stay home till after the kid's bedtime, bedtime ran late, and I got to the venue after Agalloch had already started. So I completely missed Vex and local band Cladonia Rangiferina.
The ticket price was totally worth it for Agalloch alone though. I spent most of the set leaning on T's shoulder and letting the music wash over me - dreamy, gentle melodic passages or cascades of blastbeats and tremolo guitar. We were standing near the front - about the fourth row - which isn't normal for me, since I don't like earplugs. They tend to deaden the sound, and if that had been the case for Agalloch I would definitely have moved back, but it turned out to be all right. I can really only recognize one Agalloch song - the haunting and lovely (and somewhat gruesome, if you read the lyrics) song "Limbs" - and that was the second song they played after I came in (I think I only missed one song). It was a transcendental experience to hear that song live, although some of the melodic, beautiful parts were lost in the rumble of bass and drums up near the front. I worried that other songs, where I couldn't fill in the softer bits from memory, would sound like just a blur, but that turned out not to be the case. I even enjoyed the intensity of the drums in some spots where their thunder was quite impressive.
The whole stage was so wreathed in smoke that even just a few rows back from the stage, the musicians were indistinct at times. It made for a cool effect, but unfortunately made me cough - and the cough continued into the next day, which was unsettling. I thought I caught a whiff of incense, too, which was a nice touch. Adding to the atmosphere, as the band left the stage before the encore, one of the guitarists left his guitar on, so that the room was filled with a buzz of distorted sound, like auditory fog to go along with the visual. They ended the set the same way, with drawn-out waves of distorted guitar; it was quite the performance. T commented that the one guitarist seemed "vaguely worshipful" of his guitar, holding it reverentially aloft and holding it out the audience - that added to the spiritual feel of the performance.
As with Alcest last fall, there were definitely several songs where, as the final chord faded out and the crowd broke into cheers and applause, I felt like I was waking from a peaceful dream. Which just goes to show that Agalloch was doing their job, since that's exactly how one should feel at such a show <3
I'm not sure what/when the next show will be. At the moment noveling is up and concerts have slipped a bit down my list of priorities..
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