By Christopher Walker Hlad

Check out pictures from the show here.

On Sunday July 9th, 2006, Six Organs of Admittance stormed Washington D.C. via Arlington, Virginia. Playing the venue Iota, Ben Chasny (electric guitar and vocals), Keith Wood (electric bass, electric guitar, and vocals), and John Moloney (drums and percussion) unloaded with characteristic heaviness encased within a full metal jacket of solid hallucinogenic folk some six inches thick.

Keith Wood is the band Hush Arbors. John Moloney is the drummer for Sunburned Hand of the Man. This is the same line-up that Chasny toured the US with last Fall.

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Like the infamous Trouble Funk sang back in their heyday, " We're gonna drop the bomb on the caveman crew ! " And, like Trouble Funk, in terms of the geography of the show and attitude and wrecking shop, Six Organs showed the difference between simply getting the job done and bringing a ten-megaton detonation complete with fallout.

Six Organs of Admittance is modern sensation Ben Chasny's vehicle for guitar ruling and supereminence. Touring on the strength of 2005's out-of-this-world instant classic "School Of The Flower" (Drag City 2005), and showcasing his brand new material with his "The Sun Awakens" (Drag City 2006), Chasny IS the one to be reckoned with.

Now let's get two things straight here.
1. Chasny is a BAD-ASS.
2. Chasny is fucking MIGHTY.

For the 31 year-old Californian Chasny, competition is none. For those fortunate enough to hear the 1999/2004 Six Organ's Of Admittance release "The Manifestation" (originally a limited edition 12" on BaDaBing and now re-issued on CD by Strange Attractors Audio House with a second track), it is very clear that Ben Chasny is laying down the law. Now add on his previous Holy Mountain/Time-Lag/Pavilion releases for example, in combination with his recent Drag City output, and I challenge anyone to dispute this dude. A total guitarist's guitarist. Plus he is a complete intellectual. Try that one on.

Performing a combination of older material and new songs from "The Sun Awakens", Chasny plainly illustrated his version of "the Power, the Mystery, and the Hammer of the Gods". At one point during the set, I closed my eyes and seriously felt like I was on the side of a Welsh mountain in the dark, unforgiving forest of night. I opened my eyes to see my friend Simon lying on the floor next to me, eyes closed, probably lost joyously or maybe even relentlessly in that same dark, Welsh forest. Then I looked up at Wood and Moloney who seemed to have deathly crossbones in their eyes. Yeah, deliver the WORD.

As Ben chucked his Les Paul down and crawled around the stage wailing and baying into the microphone like a fevered monster possessed with the spirit of Rock&Roll, there was no stopping him. And, immediately prior to that, he was screwing and fucking Moloney's drums and cymbals a la Hendrix fucking his Marshall amp stacks. Wow !

As the show ended, Chasny just sat crumpled and breathless on the stage, having totally exerted himself in a way that is rarely seen or encountered. I handed him a glass of ice water from the bar and he smiled and wolfed it down.

You hear stories about The Clash having to go backstage after shows and lie motionless on the floor for 45 minutes because of the degree of total exertion that they engaged in. If Chasny had not had to sell his recordings from the
front of the stage and talk with the crowd immediately after the set, I could of easily seen him laying on the floor in a back room for an hour -- motionless.

RED MOON OF JULY FOR BEN CHASNY (By C.W.HLAD)

No escaping the mosquitoes & moths,
No escaping the sea of burials,
No escaping the no escape.

Red moon tricks me in isolation,
Red moon sucking on complete illusion,
Red moon of geomancy now.

The current US tour is as follows:
Thu July 13
Lexington, KY
The Dame
Fri July 14
Chicago, IL
Empty Bottle
Sat July 15
Detroit, MI
Magic Stick
Mon July 17
Cleveland, OH
Beachland Tavern
Tue July 18
Buffalo, NY
Kitchen Distribution
Wed July 19
Northampton, MA
Iron Horse Music Hall
Mon July 24
San Diego, CA
Casbah
Wed July 26
Sacramento, CA
Fool's Foundation
Fri July 28
Portland, OR
Doug Fir Lounge
Sat, July 29
Seattle, WA
Neumo's
Sun July 30
Vancouver, BC Canada
Media Club
Fri Aug 4
Santa Cruz, CA
The Attic
Sat Aug 5
San Francisco, CA
Bottom of the Hill

Check out this podcast from October 2005 when Monkeyclaus caught up with Six Organs of Admittance at the Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar. Live Set and Interview with Ben Chasny.

Copy and paste this address http://www.monkeyclaus.org/cms/pdsFiles/rss123227.xml
Paste into iTunes: the Advanced>Subscribe to Podcasts

The official Six Organs Of Admittance website is:
http://www.sixorgansofadmittance.com

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