Though one drummer short (John Butler was present) of its usual two drummer/three bass line-up, the group's mini-weekend tour up to Colorado for two dates in Denver and one in Fort Collins was still powerful from start to finish. I caught Chicharra on its last evening here and left overjoyed at the group's magic and sad that I hadn't seen the band play all three Colorado shows. The layering of minimal percussion and low-end tones combined with the harmonies of three distinct voices created a clash of no wave noise with beautiful melodies and twinges of glam.
The three leads in Chicharra are engaged in many musical projects, notably as powerful solo artists. Bassist and singer Marisa Demarco has been to Denver many times over the years performing as often-theatrical harsh noise project
Knowing these musicians' for their previous work and seeing them now as a more traditional (if three bassists in a band can be considered conventional in any sense) rock-oriented light only proved their musical versatility. Not often does the bass guitar get the kind of attention it did within the creative movements of Chicharra — but Woody and the Demarco sisters brought the instrument's many sonic faces out in multitudes. The juxtaposition of the bass's lower intonation with the three vocalists' higher register harmonies made Chicharra the kind of band you stop to stare at, just to try to figure out what exactly is going on on stage. But beyond the shock in the blending of dissonant and then agreeing tones, there was a great mix of styles — fun, nominal punk riffs occurred next to calculated measures
It's interesting — even as the pop culture side of music seems enjoy proclaiming every few years as the "year of the female musician," it is still not a common phenomenon to see more than one woman in a band — or three, in the case of Chicharra. It is also not typical to find a bill like last night's at Syntax, which included four groups — Church Fire, Hideous Men, Chicharra and Of Earth and Sun — and five women members between them (and it should be noted that this thoughtful and curated line-up came courtesy of musician and Tiny Amp label proprietor and Madeline Johnston.) To play music in public as a female-identified person in 2015 is still a radical act in itself. To see three women fronting a band where all members stood in equal roles felt especially powerful. And though Chicharra presented no vocal dispatch of empowerment, it was visible just by being who they were. I hope Chicharra's subtle but no less message spreads: more women on stage. Now.
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