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Geeky art-punk with muscle explodes in Brooklyn
"You think he was into Dungeons and Dragons?" That was one overheard question at Tuesday night's concert by Texas art-punks ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead. To explain: The show served as both a celebration of the band's excellent new album "Tao of the Dead" and a showcase for the fantasy-laden artwork of TOD frontman Conrad Keely. Experiencing both of those concepts at once could inspire such inquiries: The new album was hugely inspired by old Yes and Rush records (and features "cosplay" in two song titles), while Keely's artwork veers toward highly-detailed sword-and-sorcery imagery. But who cares? It was geek rock with muscle, as Keely and Jason Reece traded off high-energy guitar licks, punctuated with screaming vocals, violent percussion and some revved up psychedelica. D&D never sounded so cool. With Takka Takka --Kirk Miller
