“Hi, I just wanted to introduce myself, my name’s Ricky, and I-” “-Oh, me too” responds Rivka Ravede, co-founder of Philadelphia-based indie/alternative band SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE. “No, I don’t think you heard me right. I said that my name’s Ricky.” “Yeah, me too.” A similar sense of humor comes from guitarist and lead vocalist Zack Schwartz (also co-founder), who, when asked what the name of the band’s drummer for the night was, responds simply “Zack.” “Well, tell Zack that he’s very talented and that he did a great job tonight.” “I will… not” answers Schwartz. SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE is spearheaded by the trio of Rivka, Zack, and vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Corey Wichlin, and performs with an additional drummer (“Zack”) and guitarist (Phil Warner) on their 2022 tour to support last year’s ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH. The record’s themes came through loud and clear, detailing what the cost of success means in the music industry in the most horrifically beautiful way. At 8PM on Friday night, opener Body Meat, an experimental producer and vocalist who specializes in abrasive synths and likewise harsh autotune vocals, warms up the crowd at The Secret Group with his unique 3-in-1 performance. This performance consists of production through soundboards (one of which he attacks with drum sticks) and synthesizers, vocals with his microphone, and dance synchronized to the music. The artist also attaches bike lights to his elbows, which perhaps even make his performance 4-in-1 with the addition of his own light show. Body Meat gives his all into his part of the show, expressing emotion through his physical movements as well as in his soul-piercing vocals. After Body Meat’s set, SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE steadily takes stage, tuning instruments and sound checking until 9PM. Then, with all band members ready, Zack Schwartz announces to the crowd, “Okay, so we'll… we’ll start now.” The first song of the night for the band is “ENTERTAINMENT,” also the first track on ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH. There is an incredibly true-to-source-material drum performance from Zack on this song, which is surprising to me given the fact that the actual opening to the track sounds literally like two robots in a boxing match. With this song, the band wastes no time in putting their best foot forward, demonstrating the supreme level of their on-stage chemistry. The band follows this up with “THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN’T DO” and “WRONG CIRCLE,” also sequentially second and third on the record. With the former, SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE is on their A-game in every aspect of the performance: the synchronous guitars, the rhythmic drumming inducing movement in the audience, and the chillingly wailed lyrics of “I’ll be your friend!” to close the song. Rivka shows off her beautiful vocal abilities with “WRONG CIRCLE” in a taste of what’s to come for the rest of the night. Corey holds down the synthesizer for the night, soothing the crowd into a swaying motion at will with performances of more easy going songs like “THE SERVER IS IMMERSED” and “Nail I Couldn’t Bite” off of 2018’s Hypnic Jerks. Also contributing in guitar and vocal performance while live, Corey handles the drums for the band on the studio recording end of things. One of SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE’s best performances of the night came with “Twenty First Road Trip,” a cut from 2017’s Pleasure Suck. “Twenty First Road Trip” employs a shredding punk attitude, simultaneously maintaining an aesthetic pleasure with the surfing guitar chords as well as freshening the track with the band’s ability to switch the beat on the drop of a dime. I was excited to see that the band performed the title track “Hypnic Jerks,” given that it was my favorite off of the album. SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE did the track justice in a live setting, with every element of the track being done on the spot even with the odd time signature present on much of the song. This was one of the performances that also demonstrated the great height of the band’s ability to play off of one another’s energy levels. Zack Schwartz intersperses found footage vocal samples between nearly every song, much in the same way that Hypnic Jerks sounds. Aside from being the lead vocalist of the band, Zack plays a wide variety of guitars throughout the night, backed similarly by Corey. Zack also adds the flangers and echo effects onto vocal performances, demonstrating his desire to accurately represent the studio recorded version. The band also previews one of their newest singles following ENTERTAINMENT, DEATH, “THE DOOR IS CLOSING.” Similar to “Twenty First Road Trip,” this track shows the band’s collective talent in their ability to switch up the tone of the performance at will. “I SUCK THE DEVIL’S ****” does more of the same; in the beginning, Corey’s vocals lead the charge in the punk-rock mentality of rebellion. Switching to Rivka’s more heartfelt section, SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE again swiftly changes the mood, sequencing the changes in line like dominoes. The band takes a brief intermission on stage while the suave, sensual track “I Still Can’t Sleep” by Bernard Herrmann, the main theme to Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver,” entrances the audience. Zack Schwartz shouts out Body Meat for his guest appearance, and gives tribute to the last three days they have with him on tour (following their Dallas, TX show, indie rock band Deeper will take Body Meat’s place). SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE’s best performance of the night comes with their closer “Fell Asleep With a Vision.” I failed to understand this track as a studio recording, but their live performance improved my perspective of the track by leaps and bounds. With the entire band taking the phrase “save the best for last” to heart, it’s evident that each and every member of the stage put their all into this one: Zack Schwartz strikes a chord not only with his guitar, but also with his passion-invoking vocals; Corey Wichlin, back to the wall now, rips the guitar with every ounce of care he has; Rivka Ravede’s hair shaggs over her face as she falls to her knees, tearing the bass apart; not to mention Phil on the guitar and Zack’s drums, who play an instrumental role in maintaining the quality and hype level of the performance. Put simply, this was my favorite concert I’ve ever had the privilege of attending. SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE emphasizes the importance of truly putting on a show, clearly drawing as much effort as they can into not only showing the audience a good time, but also having fun themselves while doing so. The band’s chemistry is not something to be taken for granted; everything is in sync and on point, with the amount of dedication each member places into their part matching one another.
Tl;dr: SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE rocks. View the partial recording here.
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AuthorEnrique Cardenas III Archives
November 2021
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