Concert Review: Hooray for Earth - Great Scott, Allston, MA 2-28-2006

As I stood near the back of the crowd at Great Scott in Allston, MA the other night I couldn't help but wonder; how could a group of guys so small make noise that big? The band was Hooray for Earth. Hooray for Earth are four guys ranging from moderate to miniature stature playing some of the heaviest music I've heard from an alternative band in a long time. What was possibly most impressive about their set was that you would think for a band so small to be that powerful that an extra amount of effort would have to be put in to achieve it. The exact opposite was the case. Their energy seemed effortless. They're a definitely a band who's dates will be marked on my calendar for the foreseeable future.

Hooray for Earth are a local Boston band that was formerly known as Raymond. I'm not sure what the reasoning behind the change was, but in the search engine era it's a smart move. They opened their set with, "Party," which is indicative of their style. One song is never one song to Hooray for Earth. Party is choppy and melodic at the same time. Other songs utilize the loud/soft dynamic that was perfected by the Pixies. The effect is disorienting. As soon as you're lulled into a melody or a choppy verse they turn on a dime and go in the complete opposite direction. "So Happy" was another stand out that has the soft verse and heavy chorus.

Bands like the Pixies and others can be seen as influences, but no matter what past bands you see in Hooray for Earth one thing separates them from those bands. Hooray for Earth is an extremely heavy band. The rhythm section of Chris Principe on bass and Seth Kasper on drums doesn't seem to belong in a band like this. They should be off doing heavy metal somewhere. To our benefit they are not. From my vantage point I can't be 100% certain that Kasper wasn't using his head as a third drum stick. The punishment he gave his kit can only be described as being in the same vein as domestic abuse. On the other side of the stage Gary Benacquista adds texture with his synthesizer that sounds like "Who's Next" from hell.

Running the show though is lead vocalist Noel Heroux. In between breaks in the vocals he turns his back on the crowd and waves his arms like a symphony conductor. He has no problem belting out aggressive vocals and even once let out a heavy metal scream. A few times Heroux even played with his affects pedal strapped to the body of the guitar rather than on the floor. You get the feeling watching and listening to Hooray for Earth that they are always thinking of different ways to make noise.

The aggression of the whole band is such a breathe of fresh air. While other bands are rehearsing flawless melodies the members of Hooray for Earth are probably patching up their wounded finger tips and knuckles which they must get on a regular basis with the amount of instrument thrashing that they do.

It'll be interesting to hear what they can do in the studio when their debut album comes out later this year. On stage they give you pretty much everything and under the supervision of the right producer their capabilities are limitless. They've definitely got the songs and the sound. For them now it's only a matter of capturing the energy and aggression that they put into their live show.