Words and Photos by Aaron Richter
Los Angeles’ HEALTH perform as if they hate their instruments. Mics get tossed (or simply dropped). Drums get obliterated. Pedals and knobs get abused. And guitars get utterly manhandled. Yet HEALTH performs as if they cannot live without their instruments, like they’re all part of one body, integral pieces of the whole HEALTH experience, without one and the whole thing crumbles to bits. Supporting Black Lips’ security-infuriating set at Sunday’s JellyNYC Williamsburg Waterfront show, the Trent Reznor-approved four-piece writhed in uncontrollable ecstasy as they unveiled songs from their upcoming epic of a record, Get Color. Lead single “Die Slow” churned with dark passion while “Eat Flesh” let the group swing freely, flailing and thrashing to help unleash the shocking violence within the songs abrasive shell. And at the center of it all is bassist John Famiglietti–a genius of movement–whose towering, swirling presence onstage is a thrill in itself to watch.
