Entrance Melted My Face

When we met up with Paz Lenchantin (bass in A Perfect Circle and Zwan, plus violin and string arrangements for a whole lot of shit) for our interview, she was taking advantage of Austin’s warm weather and playing with her dog (a white Jack Russell terrier) on the beautiful grounds of the French Legation Museum on San Marcos. A few blocks from the madness brewing downtown, it was a nice break from our hectic SXSW festivities, and Paz proved to be a lovely interview–friendly, open and easy to talk to. We hung out for 20 minutes, talked about her many musical projects–old and new–took some still shots for an upcoming Synthesis Magazine feature and went our separate ways. She told us her newest band, Entrance, would be playing the Tee Pee Records showcase that evening at Lava Lounge, and that we should check them out.

(Photos and more blathering after the jump)

We ventured out to the venue’s patio and Entrance had already started up (though they hadn’t been on for long), and as soon as the first wave of sound hit me, I knew I was in for a memorable show. The band was tearing through a version of “Grim Reaper Blues,” a ferociously heavy dose of bluesy psychedelia. Far from the soft spoken and modest person I’d met at the French Legation Museum, Lenchantin thrashed around and pounded her bass on stage, and along with drummer Derek James created a deep groove, a perfect fuel for singer/guitarist Guy Blakeslee to feed off of. The wiry frontman, playing his Telecaster left handed and strung upside down, hypnotized the crowd with his soulful vocal delivery and preternatural guitar work.

Yeah, it fucking rocked. Probably my favorite set that I caught last week. Here are a couple shots of what you missed. The album will be out this summer, I think, and you should probably get it (I will), but I get the feeling the best way to experience this band will be to grab a few beers and see them live. [Photos by Dain "Balls Deep" Sandoval]

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