Mission of Burma
November 14th at the Independent, San Francisco

There’s no reunited band in rock more worthwhile than Mission of Burma. At this point, the Boston-based post-punk band has been together in their present form for seven years, quite a bit longer than the four years they were originally together in the late ’70s/early ’80s. They’ve just released their third studio album as a reformed outfit (it’s their fourth overall): The Sound The Speed The Light, which is not only fantastic, but lent speedy, careening set fodder to their show at the Independent on Saturday night.

Saturday’s show was opened by Erase Errata, a mostly San Francisco-based experimental punk band that only occasionally plays shows these days. Led by the now Portland, OR-based singer/guitarist Jenny Hoyston, the band played as a four-piece, drawing several songs from 2006’s terrific Nightlife (Kill Rock Stars), still their most recent album release. One of the most fascinating aspects of their sound is the bass and drums interplay, especially on the couple of songs where bassist Ellie Erickson plays the highest notes on her bass guitar in percussive, bell-like riffs that add a hypnotic, almost disco quality to drummer Bianca Sparta’s beat. Their contemporary take on ZE Records-type grooving, scraping punk is totally captivating, and a more sprightly counterpoint to Burma’s furious onslaught.

Starting off with “Donna Sumeria”, the moody opening track from 2006’s The Obliterati, Burma proceeded at a brisk pace through a career-spanning set, no more backward-looking than that of any other band with five albums behind them. It’s a testament to their brilliance that the new songs are just as good as the old ones, everything intermingling seamlessly. The last time I saw them perform was at Noise Pop in February 2005, a gig that Erase Errata also happened to open, and some changes since then were apparent: Singer/guitarist Roger Miller no longer wore shotgun range hearing protection, opting for what appeared to be more minimal earplugs, and the band no longer opted for a mid-set break, storming through their fairly considerable setlist with great energy.

New song “1, 2, 3, Partyy!” (with two ‘y’s, indeed), featured counting by a mysterious individual, perhaps a roadie, and does, indeed, seem to be about partying—no surprise given that two of the band’s members, drummer Peter Prescott and tape loop coordinator Bob Weston (also of Shellac), were in the beer-swilling Volcano Suns. “Possession”, likewise a new tune, was another highlight, as well as the several they drew from The Obliterati, “2Wice” and “Spider’s Web” among them. The older songs were, as always, a treat: “That’s How I Escaped My Certain Fate” closed out the main set, and “Secrets”, “Einstein’s Dream”, and iconic A-side “Academy Fight Song” all made appearances.

At one point, Weston (who’s positioned offstage—in this case, standing at the soundboard upstairs at the Independent) looped a goofy, off-the-cuff comment by Prescott, something like “ahaha, hey, we’ll do another one,” back at the band several times to laughter all around. The lighthearted ease with which Burma rocks to oblivion is really inspiring—try and see them on the East Coast in January 2010 if you’re out there.

Listen: Various Tracks [at myspace.com]

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