If you made it out to Mission of Burma’s show at the Black Cat on Saturday night, it’s likely you’re still hearing those songs running through your head. If that’s the case, it’s probably because you can hear little else. The band may now be firmly entrenched in middle age, but don’t tell them that there’s a mellowing process that’s supposed to go along with reaching your 50s. Saturday’s show was quite possibly the loudest we’ve ever heard at the Black Cat, as Burma showed all the young ‘uns just how to blow the roof off a venue. Fans close to the stage would have done well to ask guitarist Roger Miller to borrow an extra set of earplugs.
Of course, Burma’s volume was always legendary, and a big part of the reason their star burned out so quickly during their first iteration, as the floor-shaking decibel levels had taken a serious toll on Miller’s hearing. Since their return in the early portion of the decade, though, sacrificing that cacophony has never been part of the deal; turning down the knobs would have made them an aging curiosity, cashing in on a reputation that never got them much aside from a lot of posthumous adoration. But with amps humming at full bore, they’re as vital as they were nearly 30 years ago.
Before Burma took the stage, though, there was the matter of the opening act. In a clever move, Burma is playing a few shows with the veterans of Versus (the band) opening a show that was to be devoted to Burma playing Vs. (the album). We imagine it’s a dream come true for Versus, who named themselves after the record when they formed back in 1990. And while they’ve been inactive for the better part of the decade, they’re back together now and working on new material, which if Saturday night’s set is any indication, should stand up well to the band’s well-worn ’90s catalog. And what could have been a simple case of stunt-casting turned out to be an excellent choice; Versus sound as great (even as a stripped-down three-piece) as they did in their prime.
As for Burma, while their new material is excellent, Saturday was about the classic tunes. The band is doing a series of special gigs celebrating their early records, with some nights devoted to full recreations of their debut EP, Signals, Calls, and Marches, and others (like the Black Cat gig) for full run throughs of the only LP from their first go round, Vs.. When there are no surprises in the set list, and everyone pretty much knows what’s coming next, it could be easy to settle into an unenthusiastic rut for the evening. Any worries that might be the case were settled early on.
Photos by Flickr user Andrew Feinberg, used under a Creative Commons license.
