Seattlest Follows Austinist's Lead & Loves The Octopus Project

It's Tuesday and we're still very much in recovery from the weekend. For the first time in a long time (maybe ever), Seattlest pulled off the weekend triple at Chop Suey. Diplo's Hollertronix partner-in-crime LowBudget started the weekend with a party vibe at the Chop Suey debut of Sing Sing, kicking out the jams much more effectively than at last year's appearance at the War Room. We were a little disappointed that Saturday's Various performance (recorded and available here), wasn't more live, but considering their hype trajectory and the fact they were here at all, we'll take a DJ set over nothing.

Sunday we headed to Chop Suey a bit tired from the preceding two nights, but we were definitely rewarded for our efforts. Openers Sleepy Eyes of Death completely blew us away with instrumental songs that felt epic without ever dragging, emitting a "heavy" sound that wasn't bludgeoning (also, since when is a synth player in a band the one headbanging?). Their self-supplied lights and fog machine enhanced the overall effect without being cheesy. The only disappointment we had with Sleepy Eyes of Death is the fact we hadn't heard more of them until this show.

Headliners The Octopus Project surprised us even after having seen the band before. They started their set with metal bowls on their heads turned toward the audience, an indication of the quirkiness they'd go on to exhibit. Despite that, they weren't a band for gimmicks. From the live music capitol of Austin, the O.P. had everything completely dialed in, reaching under, over and around other band members to operate the various bits of gear they had on stage. Behind them weird visuals provided unnecessary eyecandy as the band provided more than enough to watch, switching instruments constantly, jumping, and crouching throughout their performance (well, other than Yvonne, whose stoicism was amplified by the other's activity). As promised, it was noisy, poppy, catchy, weird, but they reinforced our rule about appreciating any band that can successfully incorporate a theremin. Thanks for waking our tired bones Octopus Project, and thanks Chop Suey for the string of bookings to test even our going-out fortitude.