{"id":701,"date":"2022-05-14T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-14T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.nysmusic.com\/2022\/2022\/05\/14\/masters-of-their-craft-all-them-witches-spellbind-in-syracuse\/"},"modified":"2022-05-14T19:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-05-14T19:00:00","slug":"masters-of-their-craft-all-them-witches-spellbind-in-syracuse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.nysmusic.com\/2022\/2022\/05\/14\/masters-of-their-craft-all-them-witches-spellbind-in-syracuse\/","title":{"rendered":"Masters of their Craft: All Them Witches Spellbind in Syracuse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Finding a rare balance between heavy riffs, southern blues and psychedelic space rock, Nashville, Tennessee\u2019s All Them Witches wowed a packed Westcott Theater<\/a> crowd on Tuesday, May 10 in Syracuse. Now celebrating ten years as a band and also the birthday of one of their founding members, fans were treated to a career spanning powerhouse performance of unapologetic, in-your-face stoner-rock of the highest caliber – gloomy yet groovy, visceral, thought provoking and loud. Very loud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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All Them Witches performing at the Westcott Theater on May 10, 2022<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Garnering a substantial \u201ccult-like\u201d fan base through a decade of relentless touring, All Them Witches (AIW), comprised of birthday boy Ben McLeod on guitar, vocalist Charles Michael Parks Jr. on bass, drummer Robby Staebler, and multi-instrumentalist Allan Van Cleave on keyboards and violin, have firmly established themselves as heavyweights of their genre.\u00a0 The Nashville psych-rock quartet already has an impressive six studio albums and three live albums under their belt. \u00a0Sidelined by the pandemic for the better part of two years and eager to play in front of people once again, the Witches\u2019 are currently in the midst an extensive spring tour, one that often sees them doing five nights in a row.\u00a0 We caught up with the hard working and harder rocking road dogs as they rolled into the Westcott Theater for a special Tuesday night treat.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a stage setup that featured a massive backdrop depicting the same \u201cacid face\u201d seen on much of AIW\u2019s merchandise, the show began at 8pm with a blistering opening set from Ocean City, Maryland psyc-metal power trio The Swell Fellas. Their first time hitting the road on a national tour, the band expressed their sincere gratitude to \u2018The Witches\u2019 for showing them the ropes and bringing them along. After their impressive and thunderous, percussion heavy performance, the house lights dimmed and it was finally time to see what sort of strangeness our headliners were brewing up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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AIl Them Witches Charles Michael Parks Jr. performing at the Westcott Theater on 5\/10\/22<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

As the silhouettes of All Them Witches took their positions on the darkened stage, an eerie and brooding ambiance began funneling in, swelling and building tension in the now mostly full room. Finally, after much anticipation, the thick bass line and steady snare beat of the song \u201cSee You Next Fall\u201d kicked in as vocalist Charles Michael Parks Jr. crooned his first words of the evening, \u201cIf all is well \/ I can not tell,\u201d setting the tone for the heavy subject matter still to come. As the layers of sonic distortion, spacey textures and psychedelic fuzz continued to amplify, there was always a type of impending dread under the surface. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The band was always in control, showing a calculated restraint while building the tension to a boiling point before The Witches would finally kick on the overdrive pedals and unleash an all-out sonic assault of the senses. Brilliantly executed throughout the evening, the band was able to \u2018craft\u2019 a well-balanced setlist that both kept the listener on their toes and built momentum through the duration of the show. Working their way through AIW staples like \u201cWhen God Comes Back,\u201d \u00a0\u201cDiamond,\u201d and \u201c1×1\u201d (which featured the crowd shouting in unison \u201cI can\u2019t wait to be defeated,\u201d) the band flexed their musical might with a cool confidence that never seemed too \u201cover the top.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rooted in the blues, but with a propensity for all things heavy, the influences for AIW\u2019s sound are all over the map. While you would never confuse them for the Grateful Dead, it was hard not to notice the huge Steal Your Face slap on guitar player Ben McLeod\u2019s amp, or the Gilmour influence on stand out tracks of the night like \u201cSaturnine & iron Jaw,\u201d which goes from delicate and tasty Pink Floyd-esq licks to suddenly shifting directions to a chugging, meaty crunch reminiscent of bands like Tool and Mastodon.  Perhaps the essence of this versatility was best on display during the incredible one-two punch of the bluesy, almost spoken word styled \u201cThe Marriage of Coyote Woman\u201d which alligatored nicely with the relentless riffage of \u201cEnemy of My Enemy.\u201d Footage of that can be seen below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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