Bells ‘Sleigh’ crowd with sound

Brooklyn duo Sleigh Bells made a Houston stop on its “Reign of Terror” tour dropping a literal wall of sound and screams on an electrified Warehouse Live crowd on Wednesday.

The enthusiasm brought by the audience and the power of the band combined to create the ideal environment for this band, whose show last year filled only half of the venue.

Openers Elite Gymnast, a group from Minneapolis, had an odd method to their “show.”

The band consisted of a person playing the synthesizer and controlling the beats while the singer would read lyrics off of a projector, which had a background of sorts that brought to mind a cheap karaoke bar.

The music was a dark, deep sound infused with English post-punk from the late ’70s. It was definitely something original and made the short set from this unknown band a great one.

Javelin, the second opening act, is also from Brooklyn and brought a more retro feeling to the show. The twosome’s sound seemed like various genres were randomly thrown together with no one true sound.

With both openers checked off, the audience gasped as they saw stagehands set up a wall of subwoofers — a clue to what Sleigh Bells was about to deliver.

The group brought a guitar-driven show with guitarist Derek Edward Miller slashing riffs every other song and lead singer Alexis Krauss screaming and singing along in perfect harmony.

The crowd cheered and hyped-up as the first track, “Demon,” started and the bass and subwoofers succeeded in moving the crowd into a frenzy. People all around the venue screamed the lyrics and moved to the throbbing floor and speakers which sat at the sides of the stage.

The vibe continued during “Rill Rill,” with Krauss holding the microphone out to the audience inviting them to scream along.

Midway through the gig, the band played “Comeback Kid,” the first single from the new album, which was a bit surprising since most bands save their latest hits for the encore.

As the encore began only minutes after the finishing of the full set, the crowd did not budge an inch, but instead crowded closer to the middle and Krauss began singing and calling everyone closer.

The final track that the group played was “A/B Machines,” which was an impeccable track on which to end the night.

Though the duo has two albums out, the entire gig lasted an hour and fifteen minutes. It was enough to please the crowd and to hear all of the hits from both albums. Sleigh Bells was able to keep the crowd going during the entire set as well as still keep composure to give an impressive delivery.

As the two musicians set off to continue to tour the country, fans in Houston were left with throbbing ears and hoarse voices from the spectacle the Bells brought.

[email protected]