Although The Twilight Sad show at Cholmondeley's was free of charge last Saturday, attendees paid nonetheless: not with money, but with those cells in your eardrum that enable you to hear. All in all, it was a thrash-fest of dissonant and huge hardcore rhythms. Lead singer James Graham made brave attempts to smooth out the sound with his crooning melodies born in the heart of Scotland, the band's homeland, which was a shame considering that his unique vocals were drowned in the torrential storm of instrumentation. The sound levels were utterly absurd, as the guitar, in all of its effects-pedal glory, strangled not only Graham, but the drums as well. Yes, the guitar almost drowned out the drums. Guitarist Andy MacFarlane displayed an embarrassing array of the worst effects one can torture a guitar with. Imagine a chorus effect, layered with reverb, layered with church bells. Then imagine all of it turned up to 11. Each song sounded like tremendous feedback supported by a flailing drumbeat desperate for attention.

After experiencing their live show, it's clear The Twilight Sad can't accurately represent itself on stage. The band's recordings depict a different type of art altogether. With Graham's voice ringing clear as a bell and cushioned with a balanced guitar sound, listeners are able to experience the band's direction and soulful admissions of heartache. There is a dimension to this band that is lost when it plays a live set rife with loud, superfluous garbage noise and poorly mixed sound levels. Only toward the end of the show was the band's potential revealed to the audience at Chum's, when it initiated an instrumental jam that was uplifting with a fun, empowering rhythm.

Opening act Ferraby Lionheart was a super-mellow folk group with the kind of poppy, superficial rhythms that add a depressing sense of banality to any song. The vocalist donned a hilariously corny '50s ballad drawl whose foolishness could only be topped by the sharp, treble swells of the good ol' pedal steel guitar. But hey, the band did end with the song "Pure Imagination" from the movie version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, so it's all good.