Song Spotlight: Brutus VIII's Shame (a night at Zebulon)

Brutus VIII (moniker for Jackson Katz) opened up for Tankerlow (you can read that article here) who were celebrating their sophomore album SLAGROOM. His Zebulon set was an industrial experimental thrill ride. Throughout the set, one could hear William S. Burroughs spoken-word Dinosaurs - a desire for humanity to keep on evolving.    

Brutus VIII at Zebulon

He opened up his set with "Group Vox." A song that quickly reaches aggression level in it's tone. The set initially started off with Katz having two microphones in front of him, but one stand quickly collapsed onto the floor. The performance was played under the dimmest lights possible, with the glow of red lights across the stage. People at that the front of the stage, danced throughout. When his vocals reached a heightened level of intensity, he stepped forward in a parallel escalating move. 

Brutus VIII at Zebulon

There is a dichotomy of influences when it comes to Brutus VIII. The above description may lead one to think the night included hardcore influences. Yet, his wire-rim glasses told a different story. It gave the set an intellectual framing while the band name harkens back to Roman political intrigue. Also, that collapsed microphone stand was eventually recovered and properly reassembled. Throughout the set, microphones were put back into their clips with care. While Katz paced as if he wanted to break out of the stage restrictions (he did walk out into the crowd for one song), his bandmates were stoic in nature. In fact, for a portion of the set, stoic doesn't even apply as his bassist took a seat on a monitor. 

Brutus VIII at Zebulon

The Song Spotlight goes to his most recent release "Shame." The song is a spoken word tune where the aggression is stripped out, leaving behind a vulnerability. One doesn't have to feel shame to be emotionally spent. 

Then why do I feel so empty every time I step out?   

Katz is currently based in New York though he was previously based in Los Angeles.

Setlist: Group Vox, My Eating Disorder, Building a Bomb, A Fucking Asshole, Cool With Camo, I Didn't Ask, Connie, Shame, Ash Wednesday.