Vimana, Tower, The Golden Grass and Satan's Satyrs at The Acheron

So all good things must come to an end, and last night was, barring some unlikely turn of events, my last night ever at The Acheron. What a night it was though, four of the most powerful rock bands I have seen in a good long while came out to help wish a fond goodbye to this venue that has changed all of our lives. As I made my way out to that hallowed ground I knew that even though this may be the end of one great venue, what is dead may never die, the Acheron and their crew will be replaced and come back harder and stronger.

The first band up on the night was the trippy Vimana. Now this is a band who listened to a toooon of Hawkwind growing up and now use a psychedelic stage show to fully communicate their passion and it is glorious. Covered in glitter and using fantastical song structures with spaced out guitar solos and a general sense of musical exploration Vimana live are simply devastating. A lot of bands add spacey parts to their songs these days but few have the balls to go whole hog as Vimana do. It makes for an unique and all encompassing sonic experience and one that you are going to want to revisit time and time again.

Up next was Tower - a band who I had heard about but wasn't expecting to be as wonderfully impressed by as I was. These guys truly understand the spirit of rock and roll. They are high energy, wild and vicious. With a dynamic frontwoman and a powerful sense of fun driving the whole thing forward it's hard not to want to dance to Tower. This is a group who capture the hearts of an entire audience and within seconds have them all dancing on the floor showing what they've got. This is a band who bring us back to the foundational beauty of the music and remind us why we got into it in the first place.

Golden Grass knew they had a had act to follow but they utterly blew me out of the water. With all three members of the band taking on vocal duties, either as lead or harmonizing in pretty much every song they have a potent versatility. While I spent the entire set waiting for them to cover Led Zeppelin's Rock and roll the band still impressed me with their 70s sensibilities and their ability to charm. Not a lot of bands can deal in the sheer charisma and understated magic of a band like Golden Grass. These guys let you vibe out and dig into what truly matters - fun riffs and high powered good times.

Finally the hour was nigh for Satan's Satyrs, the last band I was ever to see at Acheron. I've loved these guys for years now, I've probably seen them six or seven times, and they actually have played the Acheron themselves a handful of times. It's weird to think that a band who are such a mainstay in my life would be the band to help me say good bye to one of my favorite places in the world but in many ways it is appropriate. They came on and ripped through their new set, this being their second show as a four piece. With harmonized guitar solos and a rip roaring attention to detail there is something fresh and serious about Satan's Satyrs. They are young, vicious and ready to tear your throat out all over again.

So I walked home from the Acheron for what will probably be the last time. Who knows - maybe I will go back to the Anchored Inn, the sick bar that they had attached, but maybe not. All I know is that I've had some good times there and made some close friends at the space. The Acheron was designed for tramps like us. It's rare to find a place that so perfectly reflects the magic of the DIY scene - but such is the case with this venue and though it may be gone from NYC's geography it will never be forgotten.

Find the bands on Facebook!

Vimana: https://www.facebook.com/VimanaBK/?fref=ts

Tower: https://www.facebook.com/TOWERnyc/

The Golden Grass: https://www.facebook.com/thegoldengrass/?fref=ts

Satan's Satyrs: https://www.facebook.com/satanssatyrs/?fref=ts