A Light Among Many play tonight at Project Project with FXTHR^.

by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It’s been more than seven years since FXTHR^ performed live. The project features Dapose (the guitarist of The Faint) and Dustin Bushon, and in the past also has included other musicians including Clark Baechle of The Faint.

FXTHR^ returns tonight for a performance opening for Denver drone band A Light Among Many (Nauseating Whiff Records) at art space Project Project, 1818 Vinton St. However, I’m unclear as to who will be performing as FXTHR^. Whoever it is, expect it to be an experience like no other.

(UPDATE: I’m now told by Project Project that tonight’s FXTHR^ performance will only feature Dustin Bushon.)

Here’s my review of an April 2005 FXTHR^ show at Sokol Underground. Note that I didn’t use the stylize spelling of FXTHR^ back then, probably because I didn’t know how to create the right character on my keyboard:

I got down at the Underground just as Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship had taken the stage. Their style and sound was pleasingly thunderous and epic, intense and… well, loud, dark and ominous as a storm cloud rolling in — a fitting opener for what lied ahead. Shortly after they finished their set, a projector screen was placed on stage. The guys in Father followed next, setting up in the dark. The projector glowed blue, then pink as Clark Baechle started off the 20-minute song with booming, repeated, tribal drum riffs that went on — alone — for at least a few minutes before D. Bushon joined in on drums alongside him, throwing his arms high with every capped measure. Bushon threw his sticks off stage, picked up a guitar and began a throbbing drone that would eventually include Dapose and someone on bass.

Meanwhile, on screen, a faint pattern emerged, a pulsing central circle surrounded by four pulsing dots — one in each corner. Slowly, small lines appeared, growing into a web of veins (or so it seemed). As the sound intensified, the veins kept growing, becoming more detailed with each pulse of the central circle, eventually resembling the circulatory system of an alien life form. Behind it, in the dark, the guttural sounds from Father throbbed louder, trancelike and grim. Eventually Clark up and left the stage, leaving Bushon, Dapose and the bass to rumble on. I don’t know if it was the all-encompassing low end, the nightmarish image on screen, or the combination of the two, but it was right about here that I began to get slightly nauseous. What the fuck was this supposed to be, some sort of bludgeoning nightmare séance?

One-by-one members of the band left the stage, eventually leaving Dapose to drone to a conclusion while Seth Johnson’s gruesome image slowly faded from the screen. When Dapose finally left and the house sound and lights came up, the crowd of 100 clapped, confused and maybe a bit startled. Father’s performance was disturbing and unsettling and most likely right on target.

Tonight’s show starts at 8 p.m. Pay what you want at the door, 100% goes to the artists.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2020 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.