It may be extraneous to explain how minimal and no-nonsense the sibling duo of White Mystery can be. Yet, it’s worth noting how a band with two instruments and two rockers can easily win the rapt affection of the hip rockers and head boppers—whether in love or completely out of it—on Valentine’s Day 2013.
On a holiday observed with cheeky undergarments, overstuffed teddy bears and Hallmarkian sentiments, White Mystery, with marked simplicity, set up White Francis’ minimal drumkit, throwing Miss Alex White’s red and gold Rickenbacker over her shoulder and slinging a regulation Orange amp onstage before kicking off the set by shouting “We are White Mystery” of the band’s title theme song. And that’s all it took.
The group headlined the 9th annual Chris Saathoff Foundation benefit show, which also featured Absolutely Not, Twin Peaks and Post Honeymoon. White Mystery are the type to play their tracks with the same spit and vigor as on their albums—Blood & Venom, White Mystery and the forthcoming Telepathic, but with the added pogo jumping and headbanging that makes seeing them live an experience beyond the canned heat on the albums.
And let’s not forget the intended buzz and piercing snare that can’t be imitated on an mp3, nor the constantly undulating red curlicues of both musicians that can’t be found in audio.
Their influences drawn from surf rock, garage rock and psychedelic were delivered with 21st century attitude and saccharine grit that makes the group less like a gimmick act and more believable as a band exploring sounds and not forgetting to have fun with it, as ensured by Alex’s sunny, unremitting smile and Francis’ black pinstripe Bulls jersey. And, this magnetism was evident in the audience’s undivided attention, from the grab-assing couples in love/lust to the guy in the crumpled fedora fisting a beer and incessantly dancing not four feet from Alex’s no-balls, no-fuss power stance.
All eyes were on the group and not on each other, and at the close of the evening, Alex thanked everyone for spending their Valentine’s Day with the band, to which a guy responded, “Thank you for the rock ‘n’ roll!”
White Mystery will release Telepathic on April 20, 2013. Read more about it in Pop ‘stache’s interview with Alex White earlier this week.
