By Josh Herwitt //
Tortoise with Bishop Nehru //
The Regent Theater – Los Angeles
August 31st, 2016 //
It’s hard to have a conversation about post-rock bands without mentioning the name Tortoise. Because for as controversial as the term “post-rock” was — and still is — among instrumental groups born out of the early 90’s, the Chicago quintet has remained at the center of the genre, standing as one of its most prominent pioneers.
But however you choose to label their music, Tortoise’s longevity can’t be overlooked. Neither should their productivity, which saw them release five studio albums over a decade’s worth of time. It’s only more recently that Dan Bitney, Doug McCombs, Jeff Parker, John Herndon and John McEntire started taking some significant time off between LPs, with their longest layoff spanning six-plus years after unveiling The Catastrophist back in January.
Bishop Nehru
Still touring in support of the 11-track record, Tortoise played their second show in LA in less than fours months last Wednesday. And after filling up the Teragram Ballroom on a Monday night (read our review of the show here), the band arrived at another one of downtown LA’s newer music venues for the latest installment of Red Bull’s Sound Select series.
An all-night grindhouse and adult movie theater years ago, The Regent Theater appeared to be modestly full on this night, as emerging hip-hop emcee Bishop Nehru (born Markel Scott) warmed up the crowd with flows that have earned him critical acclaim from Billboard, NME and Dazed alike. Yet, when it came time for the main event, Tortoise made sure to take fans on one of their experimentally delicious sonic adventures for more than an hour.
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