All Them Witches & L.A. Witch - Nothing as Ideal Tour
All Them Witches at Warsaw, December 7th, 2021
There’s no such thing as a best place for live music, but there’s something satisfying about a crowd of fans wearing mostly black descending upon a Polish community center in an otherwise quiet corner of Brooklyn. The smell of fresh pierogi and sound of countless people mispronouncing their orders for Polish beers like Żywiec and Okocim (don’t ask, we probably got it wrong too) may not be what you’d typically associate with a rock concert - but if embracing the unexpected isn’t the spirit for a good show, what is?
Opened as a concert venue in 2001 and with an almost exclusively standing room capacity of only 1000, Warsaw might feel more akin to well-utilized, ornate gymnasium compared to its contemporary competition - but don’t mistake this as a shortcoming. This lack of frill in the space effectively directs focus on the performance, as it should.
The show opens with L.A. Witch, an all-female garage-rock band from (you might have guessed), Los Angeles. Formed in 2011, the trio has a distinctively California surf-rock style mixed with a lo-fi, dark bluesy sound - the latter of which pairs them particularly well with All Them Witches. Playing a black Gretsch guitar with a piercing overdrive tone in contrast to her forlorn, almost folksy vocals, Sade Sanchez quickly wins over the receptive crowd with songs including “Firestarter” and “I Wanna Lose” from the band’s 2020 release, Play With Fire. The band ended the relatively brief set with “Kill My Baby Tonight”, leaving the vibing crowd hungry for more.
Fortunately the crowd wasn’t left waiting long - “We’re All Them Witches from Nashville, Tennessee'' was as succinct of an introduction as any before the band dove into the dark bluesy intro of the thundering “Saturnine & Iron Jaw”, the first of five songs they showcased from the Nothing as Ideal album. Most hard rock / metal bands can distinctly trace their musical stylistic lineage back to Black Sabbath, and while ATW’s heavy blues influenced sound tips a hat to them as much as anyone, the relentlessly crushing and creative riffs of Charles Michael Parks Jr. and Ben McLeod in tandem with Robby Staebler’s complex drumming make stoner metal staples like Kyuss or even the progressive icons like Pink Floyd seemingly more apt comparisons. The recently returned Allan Van Cleave on keyboard (he departed the band in 2018 but rejoined earlier this year) was a welcome addition, adding an eerie melodic layer to the band’s sound. ATW might have moments or songs that have a retro familiar feel, but the versatility in their writing makes each uniquely their own.
The crowd is fully captivated by the show as if in a trance, with heads slowly bobbing in unison with few phones or diversions being noted. A fittingly moody light show that keeps the band members shrouded in darkness is seemingly another smart decision to keep attention directed to the music.
After briefly departing the stage, the band ends the evening with a crushing performance of “Blood and Sand / Milk and Endless Waters” from the Dying Surfer Meets His Maker album. As the crowd slowly wanders out onto the street and off into the cool December air, one of us turned around and noticed several of the Witches (from both L.A. & ATW) sharing a cigarette & drinks on a quiet balcony above the venue entrance - silently overseeing the dispersion of their coven into the night.
It’s long been an edgy take to declare that rock music and the enduring rebellious spirit it embodies has died, but a show like this serves as a decisive counterpoint - rock isn’t dead, it’s just thriving in the darkness where it belongs.
Sade Sanchez - Vocals & Guitar
Irita Pai - Bass
Ellie English - Drums
Robby Staebler - Drums
Charles Michael Parks Jr. - Vocals / Bass
Ben McLeod - Guitar
Allan Van Cleave - Keyboard
Full setlist available here.
