Graf Orlock - Wrecking Crew/A Shocking Interrogation

This live performance by Graf Orlock, shot around the beginning of 2011 at the Chain Reaction in Anaheim, CA (basically Graf Orlock’s home turf), is a great illustration of what it’s like to see this band live. In two words: total chaos. Things are relatively disciplined during the first song, which is taken from Doombox. That EP was unreleased at the time of this recording, so the crowd didn’t know the song well enough to truly get into it. It’s also interesting that Karl Bournze sings the entire song—I’m guessing that the band hadn’t yet written Jason Schmidt’s vocal parts. The transition into “A Shocking Interrogation,” from Destination Time Tomorrow, is far more indicative of a typical Graf Orlock performance. Note that most of the kids in the crowd not only know exactly which song they’re about to hear once Jason triggers the pre-song sample, but that they’ve all got the sample memorized. Unfortunately, the video cuts off before they can finish the song, but you also get a good example of how the midsong samples that they’ve abandoned on Doombox functioned within Graf Orlock’s song structures. The transition into the powerful breakdown that follows the midsong sample is rather abrupt, but it feels like the huge payoff to the 5-second pause required by the sample, which only makes it hit harder. The new material on Doombox definitely flows better, but there’s something to be said for those midsong post-sample explosions.

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