Good bands never come to North Carolina, ever, period. So when I found out A Silver Mt. Zion, a somewhat politically charged Canadian band, which also happens to include members from my favorite band, Godspeed You! Black Emperor was coming to North Carolina, I jumped at the chance.

The show was at a venue called The Grey Eagle. I had never been to Asheville, let alone the venue before. My friends and I pulled up to the building after an over seated four hour car ride to a shabby looking building at the end of a shabby hilly road lined with shabby businesses, mostly out of business. I exclaimed, “This is it?” and the sign on the building reassured that it was.

We went into the building and it was very small. It also had a southern cafe sort of restaurant attached to it, selling chicken fingers, fries, and similar fodder. The bar area had a surprisingly large variety of beer. I was hungry and with nothing else vegetarian to eat, I ordered a plate of fries.

As I was waiting, one of my friends motioned for me to look at the outside dining area. I looked, and there sitting on a green plastic patio chair, was Efrim Menuck. Menuck was/ is ( the band is undecided as to whether they are still a band) one of the leading members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. My sheer…excitement of seeing such a man in such an unanticipated atmosphere was indescribable.

We sat around for a good while waiting for the show to start, at least forty five minutes after it was supposed to. Menuck would walk back and forth, with a very shy demeanor constantly, getting water, setting up the stage, etc,  and it took very much for me to sit still and not attack him with admiration.

The show finally started (we were at the very front, actually touching the stage). A pretty large crowd had gathered while we were waiting. Every one was sitting on the floor as the opener of the show, Vic Chestnutt came out. Chestnutt is partially paralyzed and was seated in a wheelchair, however this did not stop him from putting on a somewhat applauded show. For some of his set he was joined by one of the violinists from ASMZ, as well as the Upright Bassist. His sound was folksy, longing music, usually dark and slightly eerie. Chestnutt’s actual personality was opposite, he was very upbeat, interacting with the crowd and making, while mostly un-humorous, plenty of jokes- while warming up he sang ” I am going to rock you mother fuckers” to the tune he was playing. His set did not last that long, several songs in length.

Shortly after, A Silver Mt. Zion took the stage, all six members, I assumed that everyone would remain seated, as the atmosphere was very relaxed at that point, however the moment it was evident that they would start to play, everyone simultaneously rose.

The show was done well. ASMZ’s music is a fusion of post rock, sounding very similar to Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and experimental rock. The major difference between the two bands is ASMZ’s vocals, done mainly by Menuck, backed by most other members of the band.

Menuck was also surprisingly very interactive with the crowd. He had a haggard, sweaty, tired appearance and he excused this a high fever. When someone in the crowd shouted ” America sucks” which it was assumed would be met with Menuck’s approval, he simply replied “Canada sucks too”.

The show lasted over an hour and they played one encore. I would honestly have to say that their live performance is easily better then any recording I have heard. ASMZ is a difficult band to encompass with only audio, it seems as if it should be an entire body sort of experience. I did not entirely understand the concept of ASMZ before seeing the show, and was not a fan, as I was only there mostly because of their connection to GSYBE, however my mind was changed by their performance.

On a scale from one to ten, I would give the show overall a seven. Good enough for me.