The mere mention of Louisiana probably conjures its more unfortunate recent claims to fame, such as the hurricane devastation of New Orleans and the racial strife of Jena. Mention the music of Louisiana, and one might think of Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong or a vague interpretation of Cajun/Creole zydeco. However, the one-time French colony yields a vast and rich network of underground rock that reflects its multicultural heritage and exotic, swampy locale.
One workhorse of this scene is Dax Riggs, who gave a raw and riveting performance with his band Friday night at Club Spaceland in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles.
Riggs cut his teeth as the front man of Acid Bath in the early ’90s when he was 15. The metal band’s style was unique and difficult to pigeonhole: a blending of thrash and death metal, hardcore, bluesy Black Sabbath grooves and psychedelic melodies juxtaposed against Rigg’s young but very strong vocals, which alternated between vicious growls and more grunge-like singing that often prompted comparisons to David Bowie and Jim Morrison. After two full-length albums, Acid Bath disbanded in 1997 following the tragic loss of its bass player in a car accident.
Riggs went on to form various notable but often short-lived projects such as Agents of Oblivion and Daisyhead and the Moon Crickets. His most consistent project was an outfit called Deadboy and the Elephantmen, which endured for several years and managed to tour and play many festivals despite constant lineup changes.
The most recent configuration of the band was that of a White Stripes-like two-piece consisting of Riggs and drummer Tessie Brunet. Following Brunet’s departure, Riggs decided to drop the moniker of Deadboy and the Elephantmen and simply continue to write music and tour under his own name.
Continuing in the style established on previous Deadboy records, he released “We Sing of Only Blood or Love” on Fat Possum Records last August. Riggs sings with the heartfelt passion of Bowie, incorporates the songcraft of Townes Van Zandt and Neil Young as well as the aggression of Southern rock and proto-punk, and displays the dark lyrical imagery of Nick Cave or, better yet, Slayer.
Located in the heart of what could be called “Hipster Central,” Silver Lake’s Spaceland is a popular and lively music club in a rather sleepy setting. Rigg’s background in both extreme metal and independent folk rock brought a diverse crowd, and it was interesting to see moppy-haired indie rockers standing shoulder to shoulder and singing with gruff and tattooed metalheads.
Riggs took to the stage with his band, which consists of a drummer, guitarist and bassist who also plays keyboards, and launched into the somber and beautiful “Night is the Notion” before kicking into the Leonard Cohen-esque dementia of “Living Is Suicide.” The themes of death, occult and other such creepy matter figure prominently in Riggs’ songs, yet they are sung in such an upbeat manner and delivery that it makes for an interesting mix.
Other highlights were the punky “Wall of Death,” the foot-tapping “Stop! I’m Already Dead” and the Southern-fried romp of “Demon Tied to a Chair in My Brain.” There wasn’t much in-between-song banter except for Riggs notifying the sound techs about what wasn’t coming through the monitor, but he was still able to communicate his impressive stage presence and charisma with each song.
The band itself deserves special mention, as it effortlessly tore through the set list, often exchanging instruments for a change in dynamics. Vocal contributions from the audience were prevalent throughout the set, and, let’s face it, few things are more rousing and likable than a good ol’ fashioned sing-along.
For the encore, Riggs, alone on guitar, played his rendition of the Misfits’ “Skulls” before his band re-joined him for a cover Townes Van Zandt’s “Lungs,” a current favorite of his. It was a fine example of a no-frills live music performance with nothing but pure, honest songwriting and deft delivery.
It is doubtful that Riggs will become one of the better known darlings of NME or Spin Magazine anytime soon, but after years of tirelessly writing and recording music he seems to have picked up momentum that doesn’t show any signs of slowing down
