Emma Ruth Rundle Played Dark Songs in the Bright Sun on the Revolution Hall Roof Deck

Seeing a throng of heshers sway along on a posh rooftop during the golden hour was indeed a bizarre sight.

Emma Ruth Rundle performing on the roof of Revolution Hall. IMAGE: Daniel Stindt.
By Pete Cottell

They say you can't have darkness without light, and this adage certainly rang true for Emma Ruth Rundle at her June 7 show on the roof of Revolution Hall.

Rescheduled from a canceled gig back in March as part of the venue's Sunset Series, Rundle's solo performance saw the former Red Sparowes guitarist spinning tales of isolation in despair while the sun set over downtown, creating a startling contrast that was simultaneously haunting and serene. As a member of L.A.-based label Sargent House's cadre of fashionably occult hard-rock acts, songs like "Hand of God" and "Marked For Death" found Rundle's music assuming the role of the stripped-down foil to the pulverizing force of labelmates like Russian Circles and Helms Alee.

For music so morose and wrought with pain, Rundle deserves a heap of praise for cutting the emotion with swirling guitar effects and witchy ambiance, which she proceeds to cut straight through with picking dynamics punctuating the cadence of her heartbreaking warble. Seeing a throng of heshers sway along on a posh rooftop during the golden hour was indeed a bizarre sight at first, but Rundle kept the crowd rapt with enthusiasm regardless.

All photos by Daniel Stindt.

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