An amazing piece of noise-rock-mayhem history
Thanks to the folks at DaytonandBeyond, here are a couple of classic clips showcasing the earth-shattering mayhem of noise-rock supermen xbxrx. This was the band’s second appearance at the annual indie, DIY celebration known as WE Fest in Wilmington NC.
I remember this moment clear as day (haven’t seen myself in the videos yet though). We all stood around wondering what was behind that wall of cardboard boxes. Fresh in our minds were the memories of the previous WE Fest where shards of a broken keyboard became souvenirs for the crowd, and inspired me to propose marriage to one Miss Kitty. She was the one who, despite her cute, innocent look, smashed and tore that keyboard to bits. Very hot.
In 2000 there was no keyboard, no Kitty (she’d run off and got married back in Alabama … I was devastated) but there was every other bit of insanity. If you’ve never had the distinct pleasure of experiencing live what I referred to at the time as the future of rock (and I meant it … still do), then you need to watch these videos. The brave man in the maelstrom with the camera capturing the up-close, true spirit of that night was Mite Mutant.
An xbxrx performance was as much about the total destruction of convention as it was about their inventive music and high energy. Shows progressed with the swift decay of the instruments, sucking the crowd into the fire and rarely lasted more than fifteen minutes. No need to tune, replace strings or reset drums. They just barreled thru. And you knew the performance was over when a snare rolled off the stage and the set lay shattered and beaten on the floor.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Did I mention most of these guys were teenagers at the time? Their dad drove them around the country. This lineup has splintered off into other projects, but xbxrx still performs and they’re currently based out of Oakland, CA.
See Also:
xbxrx (website)
xbxrx (myspace)
DaytonandBeyond
We Fest
