VERMA at The Owl

It was a Thursday night because I met with friends at Neo. That for me was the after-glow a moment that started with seeing  Verma. This is who I saw before Circuit Des Yuex. They are a raging psychedelic monster, introduced to me by way of Killer Moon hmmm, fuck knows when, a vaguely recalled tether. I remember ........how tall Whitney next to Amaris. I'm friends with KM. Both will play at Hideout for  Chicago Psyche Fest V this January 2014.  The Owl feels long and cavernous and somehow the stage feels smaller than Hideout's. I've seen them far more times than I have recorded. Some bands I can tell you exactly when....its more vague with Verma. Now I have downloaded music of them to match the live moment. The Owl is just blocks away from Whistler on Milwaukee. Its long like a tunnel with a small stage in the end.  Now Verma are part of what holds my ear to Chicago's psyche end of the music continuum. I really couldn't tell you what Whitney sings about. So its more about how the voice sounds as another instrument. For me it puts it all together. She is in the middle creating and distant from the churning, rugged landscapes. Its probably me but I can really dance to Verma now. I found my rhythm to them. It took me a while to reach this point, series of accidents I barely remember. For me this is best introduced live. I mean the only reason I'm willing to listen to 9 minutes at home or driving is because I saw them. The songs are long with segments that take their time to fully express and they can really sell it live. In the car with sober friends on the way to something else even if its 9 minutes. Hell no! I won't chance it. But let me put you in front of them in a small Chicago club and you will want to take home the bloody shirt, and binge download all they got.....that last part I guess applies to all the live bands I have seen, but right here, right now lets apply it to Verma. They recreate intensity with each track and know how to carry it long distances. Imagine you are following a parkour runner through different sets of terrain. That is the pace of this psyche engine. Every corner turned changes the ground beneath your feet. Different moods and you are dancing to all of them, well I am anyway. They know how to capture and carry the live moment, without losing you in their jam sessioning. You're into it.  The guitarist was so into it. Some feel like briefer moments of Dazed And Confused on mushrooms.  At this point its pure speculation which songs I heard but I can easily picture Saqqara from their self-titled 2012 LP. Its forward aggressive runners pace gives you that energy to bounce. The trance establishes fast and just builds up slowly, crashes and builds again.  See them and you'll want to see them again, and this is the time where they play a lot locally, a great time to get to know them.
Zig