Telekinesis play a thunderous show in Chapel Hill

All photos by Kevin Norris

Sunday night was the final night of Merge Madness in Chapel Hill, which brought Seattle band Telekinesis to Local 506 to open for The Love Language (originally billed as a Telekinesis headline show).

The band have played the Triangle a number of times over the last few years, but Sunday night's show saw the band reach a whole new level with the a solid lineup and new, darker album 12 Desperate Straight Lines.

From note one, the band commanded the stage with an urgency like it was their last show ever. The new songs sounded amazing and included "Please Ask For Help," "50 Ways" and "I Cannot Love You," the latter dedicated to Merge Records. Bassist Jason Narducy brought the album's trademark bass lines to life, with the same distinct, cutting tone of the record.

Guitarist Cody Votolato drew most of the attention though with his wild stage antics, thrashing about during practically every song. I almost took a Rickenbacker headstock to the forehead a number of times as he manically slung his body and the guitar around.

At one point, Votolato unexpected knocked the guitar amp over, mid-set mind you, not at the end, leaving members of The Love Language rushing to reset the amp.

In the midst of the rock, Lerner took a moment to play a few acoustic songs, including a Teenage Fanclub cover (I didn't catch which song) and an unreleased song called "Feels Like a Film," written during the writing sessions for 12 Desperate Straight Lines.

As things heated back up, Stu McLamb of The Love Language joined the band for a cover of Guided By Voices' "Game of Pricks." The entire Love Langauge later joined Telekinesis onstage for a rousing closer "Coast of Carolina," which saw Votolato jump down into the crowd with his guitar and making his way towards the back of the room. Love Language bassist Nick Sanborn followed that with a stage dive into the crowd. It was a crazy, chaotic end to an amazing show.

If there was any doubt before that Telekinesis was ready to step up to the big show, that doubt has been erased. The band could easily blow away large festival crowds now and may be stepping up to a bigger room next time they're in town.