Scene and Heard

Crystal Castles + Health at The Magic Stick, Detroit MI

Photos by Bianca Garza » It has become apparent that I need to find a sexy DD to drive me to all the Detroit shows. Each visit has been met with the overwhelming urge to binge in some form and join the inebriated lunacy. It started with the Black Lips mêlée and each concert since ends with a smile, a sigh and a quiet midnight drive.

Text by Blake Gillespie
Posted on March 06, 2008

Health live

Health with guitars live

Health's John Famiglietti

crystal castles live

crystal castles alice glass

No matter who comes to town, Detroit does it dirty – my guess is Rock City never cared for the Minor Threat mantras. Luckily this night, no matter how chill I felt, the music never gave me the chance to feel comfortable in it. HEALTH, a noisy L.A. band, shook my ear holes with fuzz, banshee terror, drones, and drums of war. It was all the intoxication I could stomach, yet it was a chaotic sound I desperately wanted to inject and zone out in for another hour. But, HEALTH kept its set loud and brief – bunch of stingy crack dealers, if you ask me.

Crystal Castles, still preparing to release its debut album, are riding a high-arching pixilated wave to fame with its Arcade-electro sound. Much like HEALTH, the words are jumbled into a shredder, but Crystal Castles spits its words out from a tiny indie nymph. She is more a vision than a vocalist; gyrating with sweat matted boy's hair, her pale eyes casting eerie glares from a strobe light backdrop.

Soon you all will know what I have already heard; Crystal Castles is a few thousand bones in the budget from being on that Justice/Daft Punk level of notorious live dance sets. For now, it has a single strobe light, which Alice Glass occasionally lugged on her shoulder like a ghettoblaster to amplify her princess power. In fact, I will be a much happier person when Crystal Castles can afford more than a strobe light — that blinky fucker is going to cause seizures.

Crystal Castles closed with what I believe to be "Love and Caring," but whatever the song actually was, they should continue to end the night with it. Ethan Kath's production blasted its 8-bit glitch, then elevated to exhilarating heights with a crackling bass thump. It was a lasting reminder of the powerful jubilation we occasionally get from dancing.

Kind thoughts and hopes for speedy healing go out to Alice Glass, who was recently injured in a car accident that has led to Crystal Castles postponing several shows. For those who have to wait, it will be worth it to see our little she-ra at full power.