Cursive - House of Blues, Hollywood

Performing a sold out show on a Friday night in Hollywood; Cursive rocked the stage at the House of Blues... The band played a diverse mixture of songs from their eight albums, opening the set with the tune "Big Bang" from their 2006 album Happy Hollow. With lyrics like "In a world of entropy, why can't we just simply be? and don't feed me lies, intelligent design...", there was no lack of thoughtful lyrics, that straddled the line between questioning authority and lyrical prose.

From the moment singer/guitarist Tim Kasher took the stage, the air was buzzing with a raw rock n'roll energy. Continuing on, they went into the title track from the album that they're currently supporting: "Mama, I'm Swollen", which further raised the bar again with quixotic lyrics like "I am the body and the blood - The earthquake and the flood". Sounding like a more recent and melodic Superchunk; the band was awash in refined noise, rhythm, trumpet, and Kasher's impassioned vocals. Every song seemed to bring more fervent applause from the audience than the previous song.

Covering a great emotional distance & getting toward the end of the set, Cursive lit up the place with their hit song "From the Hips", making the new fans in the audience electrified. Afterward, the same can be said of the seasoned fans, when they rolled into the title track from the album “Dorothy at Forty", bringing the the audience to the verge of an all-out meltdown. Closing out the night was the Big Black-esque, noise driven track "Gentleman Caller". It, as well as the entire night was passionately played and well thought out. I'd recommend checking Cursive out; A little noise is just what the doctor ordered...

Photos & Words by Clovis IV