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Boredoms

November 1993, I'm sixteen years old and I'm at the Verdun Auditorium in Montreal with a bunch of high school friends. We're about to see Nirvana live for the first time at an all ages show. Everyone's antsy and anxious to get to see the legendary band live, but there are two opening acts: Mike Watt and Boredoms. Who the fuck are Boredoms? Never heard of them. Mike Watt I know, but Boredoms? From Japan? No clue! What a peculiar name. All these questions are soon blown to smithereens however as the band members erupt on stage, dressed in colorful baggy clothes, pounding away on everything in sight, screaming their lungs out and jumping everywhere like a bunch of hyperactive primates. That night, they pretty much destroyed each and every single adolescent mind in the place. My first taste of noise music was basically a rape, I had been soiled for life now (I had no idea who Merzbow was at the time - this was truly a first time experience). The ear-piercing shrieks, the spastic guitar riffs and incessant drums had blown me away, crushed me and others under their weight. This was just too much! All this noise had a strange effect on me and a few of my friends. Some hated it and just stuck their fingers in their ears, but me and a few others simply burst out in a fit of laughter. We were reacting physically to the music. Between a few laughs and some pointing (the volume was so high, there was just no way we could hear what the other was saying), our eyes were riveted on the stage. There they were, still as crazy as the first second they got on stage; it was exhausting!

Once their set was over, half the crowd would sheer at the top of their lungs as the other half would boo them. Although we did have a few laughs, we still didn't know exactly what to make of the music? Could someone actually like this stuff? Nirvana finally came on stage after Mike Watt's set (which somewhat went unnoticed as we were still trying to shake off the ringing in our ears) and we got to concentrate on the Seattle band (we were there to see them after all), but the name Boredoms had stuck in my brain. Surprisingly enough, when we heard that they were going to be the opening band during the next summer's Lollapalooza '94 (which was stopping by in Montreal for the first time), me and a friend made sure not to miss it. I still marvel att how far these artists have gone considering how brutal they were in the early years (some members formed numerous side projects or worked with other renowned artists: Free Kitte, OOIOO, Naked City, Ween, etc.).

The Boredoms sound has evolved throughout the years: the spastic punk mannerisms and noise of yore are long gone (but they do surface here and there) and have given way to long drawn out psychedelic jam of the freakiest kind. From crazy shock value to a more tasteful artistic vision, the collective have made a place for themselves in the psychedelic scene. It's had to tell where bands like Acid Mothers Temple or High Rise would be had the Boredoms not paved the way before them. An unavoidable band for fans of japanese psych (I consider them to be as important as Les Rallizes Denudés), but at the import price, it's no wonder not as many people have caught on to them. I bow my head down in shame for not having kept any of the albums I bought when I was younger. I'll make things better as I embark on my quest to get everything they've done!

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