PURITY RING Land Voyage 2022
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After the labor of numerous delays and postponements, the highly anticipated tour de womb, was finally given birth to, as Canada’s Purity Ring brought their extraordinary live show to the Granada Theater in downtown Lawrence.
The night began with a short but impactful set from young Vancouver newcomer Ekkstacy (stylized in all caps) who fuses indie, post-punk, and synth wave. He (in short dreadlocks (similar to a young Trent Reznor) and face tattoos we couldn’t make out, along with his guitarist and drummer, played in near-darkness except for some faint red lighting, played songs that helped him break out via Soundcloud, and those off his debut EP, Negative.
Song titles included “i walk this earth all by myself”, “it only gets worse I promise” and “F—k Everything!”, though the music itself doesn’t come across as especially depressing, hopeless, or lost. He offered a polite “thank you” after every song before “i want to be by your side” would end his set followed by a sharp mic drop and brisk walk off.
Leave it to the Canadians to have the most common sense about public health-
Edmonton, Alberta electronic future pop duo Purity Ring had their tour de womb start and stop numerous times due to the global pandemic (like many others), and knew that any band or crew infection would sideline them again for another two weeks, so health precautions were high.
The band strongly encouraged mask wearing, even offering free hand-stamped logo KN95 masks in hopes the crowd would all comply and singer Megan James implored the audience on a backstage mic just before their performance began (bravo to them, and if others were as vigilant, we might finally be over this…)
As for their seventy-five minute memorable and immersive set, it was part concert / part audio-visual art experience. In support of their third studio album, WOMB (on 4AD Records) and more recent follow up EP, graves (on their own The Fellowship), paying VIPs were made even happier, receiving among other things, a USB drive containing a version of new song “fearmaker” completely unique to that owner, a musical NFT of sorts.
Lighting was minimal (and dry ice smoke was plentiful) as singer James had a center elevated platform to stand from, while instrumentalist Corin Roddick was mostly hidden behind a translucent curtain separating the two, that held projected patterns, landscapes and images shown from a very large projector atop the back mixing desk..
James emerged dressed in a custom ruffled over-sized, hooded ensemble and both performed masked the entire show (a first for us to witness), which didn’t seem to hinder James’ high pixie vocals whatsoever. “It feels like I can’t stop” she sang on the opening “pink lightning” and the duo didn’t, playing the majority of tracks from the new album, alongside some older favorites.
“It’s so nice to be back, it gets better every time!” James said, happy to see the loyal and masked fans crowding the front barrier and hanging on every lyric and soundscape. Though the pair has an ample catalog of their own, two cover versions were played back-to-back, that were transformed enough to seamlessly fit into the set as if they were their own compositions.
“Go get your knife and kiss me”, James sang demurely on The Deftones’ “Knife Prty” then tempo increased as she asked if we were “Better Off Alone”, covering the 1999 Alice Deejay club hit.
Surprises continued as James re-emerged growing to almost ten feet tall in a wide sweeping dress (ok, she stood on a hidden stepladder, but it was still impressive) and the set would end with 2015’s “Begin Again” and James singing, “you be the moon, I’ll be the earth, and when we burst, start over” as projected objects exploded, then imploded and reformed in looping fashion.
In the end, the audience was left breathless and in awe, re-surfacing from the transportive experience of Purity Ring’s live set. The show itself has transformed in the time of wait and delay – what first began as the tour de womb had “learned to crawl and walk” and is now known as Land Voyage 2022- welcome to their new musical future.
ekkstacy |
ekkstacy |
Purity Ring Megan James |
Purity Ring Megan James |
Purity Ring - Megan James at Granada Theater, Lawrence KS |
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Purity Ring Megan James |
Purity Ring Corin Roddick |
Purity Ring Megan James |
Purity Ring Megan James 10ft tall |
Purity Ring - Megan James at Granada Theater, Lawrence KS |
| john ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com |
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