By: Evan Sherman
Tobacco | website | facebook |
First Unitarian Church - Philadelphia, PA | April 1, 2016
I have a lot of history with this church. I spent the better portion of my concert-going formative years at this venue thrashing about to Converge and Between The Buried And Me any chance I got. One time in particular, parking illegally in order to make the show on time, my buddy’s car was towed and we had to walk for miles in a feeble attempt to locate the impound. I saw Fourtet there nearly ten years ago, though I must admit I do not remember much of the show, not for any lack of entertainment effort on Mr. Hebden’s part, it was in the midst of a rougher portion of my life.
Walking up to the church brought back a flood of memories. Walking down the steep and confining stairway to the basement sparked flashes of instances from the past. None of this triggered any memory of how hot it gets down there once everyone is packed in for the show. Walking into the basement was like walking into a sauna, and I had completely forgotten about this unfortunate part of the venue, either way it was fun being back.
Tobacco, Thomas Fec, was set up on the left side of the stage, and from where I was standing there appeared to be a drum kit and a gong set up on the right side of the stage. He starts and the hot, sticky, almost sickening heat of the place erupts into a perfect mixture of joy and excitability all wrapped in a sinister cloud of disorientation. Like Herbert West, Fec reanimated the church by conjuring demon spirits to prop it up and dance it about as if a marionette. Being apart of this experience was like being in some strange acid-induced, 80’s dystopian rave party slipping in between dimensional planes.
Nailing a variety of songs from all three full length releases and one from the new EP, the sound could not have been better. Utilizing the gong to quite magnificent effect, Fec produced a near replicable copy of his recorded sound. Drifting into the occasional excursion that only added flourish to already surprisingly excellent sound quality, Tobacco churned out one of the best live performances I have had the pleasure to witness.
