Goes Cube @ Mercury Lounge, 4-6-07

Holy shitty fuck fuck. I can’t hear at all. I’m pretty sure I could before I walked into this venue and now it’s all screaming guitar feedback and tinnitus. I must’ve stood too close to the speaker as Goes Cube unleashed that last monstrous onslaught of noise upon the tightly packed crowd. I must’ve wandered too curiously up to the stage as singer-guitarist David Obuchowski thrashed away at those last devastating chords. At this point, I’m just amazed that I wasn’t ricocheted back twenty feet through a wall "Song 2"-style. Because Goes Cube is kick-your-mother-in-the-face LOUD. If I were to list ten adjectives to describe them, loud would appear on said list at least four times. Other fitting alternatives might include brutal, raucous, massive and volatile, if they were preceded by a whole slew of superlatives. Because the trio, rounded out by Kenny Appell on drums and Matt Frey on bass, never held a thing back on the night in question, knocking out each song with the breathless momentum of a first-round boxer. All said and done, it was an assault worthy of serving as this Brooklyn band's long-awaited homecoming. According to Matt’s informed report, it was quite possibly their best show to date, which is a boast I’m inclined to believe. On a performance level, the set was unbelievably tight from start to end, and for something so blisteringly hardcore, the music had an abundance of craft and depth. For all the focus Goes Cube receives for sheer volume, they’ve clearly invested even more energy into honing their musicianship. However, the climactic moment of the evening came at the end of the set during “Goes Cube Song 33.” Obuchowksi, swinging his dark mane wildly, jumped into the crowd, jammed for the front row and promptly smashed his custom cherry-red Squier Stratocaster into splinters. He’d already proven himself to be a rock star with his command of the stage, but this piece of theatrics was that extra confirmation. Somehow, it even personified the ethos of the band perfectly: to maximize every moment, to amplify the excitement level, to destroy anything that stands in their way. Apparently, this evening, that meant my ability to hear any decibel level below a scream, but considering it was this band on this unstoppable night, I was more than happy to make that trade. * MP3: "Goes Cube Song 27" - Goes Cube from Beckon The Dagger God EP * MP3: "Goes Cube Song 30" - Goes Cube from Beckon The Dagger God EP [Buy it] * Band Website: Goes Cube