Born Gold- Decimate Everything

I can think of few better ways to say goodbye to a sweet summer than with a sweaty, Sunday night dance party. Lucky for me, the tantalizing triple threat of Born Gold, Blood Diamonds and Teen Daze at the Electric Owl was more than willing to oblige.

By the time I arrived, Teen Daze was already neck deep into his signature hazy club thumpers, providing a lucid atmosphere to the venue. Unfortunately, the place was neither crowded nor drunk enough to effectively capitalize upon the prime soundtrack being supplied and all of the good tunes were mostly put to waste.

Thankfully, by the time Blood Diamonds took over, the crowd was approaching a satisfying level of sloshedness and the one-man band acted like a beacon, drawing cautious hipster moths towards the flame. Though his stage presence wasn’t that captivating, the constant stream of dance beats flowing into the audience provided reason enough for nearly everybody to indulge in a little bit of their own fancy footwork. Blood Diamonds had been the one name on the bill that I wasn’t familiar with, but by the time he wrapped up his set I was left greedy for more.

At last, the main course of Born Gold was served, with the Edmonton trio storming the stage clad in the kind of shiny silver short shorts that an astronaut booty dancer would wear. Without hesitation, the crowd was immediately immersed into a realm of hypnotizing lights and chaotic sounds. The real fun began when “Lawn Knives” started up. Everyone, as if an unspoken understanding existed, instantly started to jump and flail. The theatrics were once again brought up a notch during the follow up “Wombstone,” which included two members simultaneously clashing snow shovels to match the beat of the song. The traditionally popular “Boring Horror” came in hot pursuit.

Before going any further, Born Gold’s Cecil Frena let the crowd know that the next song would be the last of the evening. Apparently the band has made a habit of performing only brief setlists and I felt a tinge of resentment at how rapidly the last six songs had flown by. Fortunately, Frena is a dirty liar and the mayhem continued past the previously provided expiration date.

“Alabaster Bodyworlds,” a fresh number off the soon-to-be-released Bodysongs, was the first of their pair of encore tracks. To mark the occasion, one of the members began feeding a blue camping tarp into the crowd, causing everyone to immediately start whipping it around like it were a parachute. The picture perfect Pixie’s cover of “Where Is My Mind” acted as the climax to what could only be described as “an experience.” The slick layer of sweat that coated my body as I emerged from the Electric Owl was a vivid reminder of just how incredible the last forty minutes had been. My only complaint is that Born Gold didn’t play until the end of time.