Devil's Gate Music
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Sandwiched between the coming storm of Between The Buried And Me and local progsters Dyssidia, we have the San Diego quartet CHON. I was super pumped to see these guys, as mates had raved about them and labeled them as ‘math prog’. That genre, known for its focus on the intricacies of the musical construction and the skill of the player, takes fans of this acquired taste to a decidedly jazz end of the market. Calling CHON an instrumentalist or as part of a genre is not really understanding what is going on here, this is different.
From about 2009 the band has gown to become a circuit favourite, eventually charting in Billboard. Their first album ‘Grow’ is a metaphor for this band, growing in both popularity and style. Intricate, melodic, and synchronised were the things I took from this album. Their first EP came in 2013 and a second EP, ‘WooHoo!’ followed soon after. At this point, in 2014, the market started to take notice. So here we are at their second gig in Australia, playing in Perth the night before. The audience have done their homework and the barrier huggers are there giving some advice. CHON come on and just fire into a multi-layered, multi-time kaleidoscope of sound. Not sure that everyone knew what to to expect, but no one moved. It was mesmeric. CHON cranked out tune after tune, and occasionally broke into the odd groove but the music was tight between the guitars, like watching two artists in perfect symmetry.
CHON’s body language on stage could be taken as naivety or nervousness, but in reality they just seem to want to play. Very little communication, no singing and the only real movement was from the kit, to the front of the stage then back to the kit to finish the song. Time seemed to have very little meaning and I’m unable to tell you how long these guys played for.
What I can tell you is the audience loved it. How much effort and telepathy between the CHONbros to get to that level of playing, it’s astounding. It may not be to everyone’s taste, but the bar was empty and they got a huge cheer at the end of every song. Every harmonic or swoop was met with howls and whistles from the audience. CHON was on a lap of honour and it was an honour to see it. Maybe not to everyone’s taste but on this bill it was the perfect choice.
Review and Photography: Craig Grant
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