.Never The Same Band

Tonight in Sebastopol, long-running noise-jam-garage-jazz ensemble Instagon plays. I hesitate to call it an “ensemble,” actually, since in the 538 shows that band has played, there have been 543 different members. One of Instagon’s primary tenets is that no show is to be played by the same group of people. This makes for truly improvised music, with no past history linking the musicians. The one constant is a familiar presence on the Northern California noise scene; he goes by the name of LOB.
If you’ve never seen Moira Scar, one of the openers, you’re in for a surprise. Prizehog, who all worked at the Haven Cafe in Santa Rosa until uprooting to San Francisco and all working at Amoeba, are fucking unbelievable, and Cerebral Roil kicks things off.
Also on the bill and organizing the thing is Cory Thrall and his band TROI. I played with Cory and Darph/Nader teammate Jared Butler a few years ago in a warehouse for a Bohemian article; it was unforgettable. For one of the area’s biggest champions of noise, Thrall maintains a low profile—but then again, noise itself has a pretty low profile. The show tonight is at a community square-dance hall built on the old city dump site on the outskirts of town, for example.
Instagon, Prizehog, Moira Scar, TROI and Cerebral Roil play tonight, June 19, at Wischemann Hall, 460 Eddie Ln., Sebastopol. 6pm. $5. Bring earplugs, if you’re one of those kinds of people.