FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17: MAIN SHOW
The second night of the Festival was deemed as the first “official” night for the fact that it was the first night of the “main” shows. My friend was coming along with me, and we were both pretty excited. The venue for the main shows this weekend was a venue called The Rialto Theatre, also in downtown Tucson about 45 seconds away from the District. The venue was chosen by the organizers due to being closer to hotels, food, and other accommodations than the prior venue (in 2012 and 2013) known as The Rock.
Personally, The Rialto has always been hit and miss for me. The venue is very spacious, and even when the crowd is packed in there is usually room to move. The acoustics are great as well, and the sound fills the room, and really make you feel surrounded by sound. It also has a main lobby area before the actual concert hall portion which is used for merch tables, bathrooms, etc. I’ve always been a fan of that layout. However, the floor is on a slant until the very bottom; which to me has always given me issues with getting comfortable. Perhaps the back issues still lingering caused the floor problem to be exacerbated, but never-the-less, the construction of the venue in that regard has always bothered me.
That aside, my friend and I got to the show not much time before the headliners took stage. I bought some merch and we went in to the proper concert hall portion of the venue. I saw Backpack Guy again, and we discussed the opening band, local band Godhunter. The guitarist, David Rogers, from Godhunter is one of the co-founders of the festival, which I find admirable as he clearly has to work hard to organize the fest each year while also writing and recording music. That being said, I have never been a fan of Godhunter. Having seen them two or three times prior, I have not been able to enjoy their sets, and was honestly not looking forward to their show. Backpack Guy summed it up best I think: “They get a little better each time I see them, but I wouldn’t pay to see them if they weren’t on a show like this.” While that sentiment is harsh it is very honest, and I cannot say I disagree. Musically, the band has improved since the first time I saw them. The playing feels more organic and progresses naturally throughout the set, as opposed to seeming just “put together”. There were even a few moments where my head started to nod to a pretty good groove they had going on. However, the vocals kill any enjoyment the band was giving me. Standard, monotone barks, and a voice that is just not that strong or commanding in my mind. Sadly, Godhunter still has not converted me into a fan, and started the “official” weekend off on a bad note.
Eagle Twin, the second two person group of the weekend took stage, and I could not believe that the music they played was being made by two people. Much like -(16)- , I have listened to Eagle Twin but seeing them live is something different all together. For two men (vocalist/guitarist Gentry Densly and drummer Tyler Smith) they managed to take a hold of the crowd, played about 3 very long songs, and never lost the audience the entire time. Gentry had some incredible vocal moments, and while the performance as a whole was great (and one of the best of the entire weekend) the true highlight was Tyler Smith. Perhaps I had missed it on their records, but in a live setting Tyler has to be one of the best drummers I have ever seen. His intensity, the fills and overall technical drum work was mesmerizing. It was hard to take my eyes off the man, and he has placed himself (in my mind at least) as one of the top drums in metal currently. There was an incident where he seemed to be angry at something (or perhaps was just part of the show) but he was punching his drums and kicked over some cymbals during a song. Regardless of the reason, it was a great visual, and just added to an already stellar performance.
Pelican was next, and was one of the bands I was looking forward to the most. Having been a fan for years, I have never seen the band live so I was excited, and ultimately, let down. While the performance was ok, the songs seemed to be played faster than on the record which was surprising in the sense that some of the songs seemed unrecognizable at first. The sound was solid though, and he band performed well, but the set lacked any feeling or emotion to me. The band seemed to be disconnected from the crowd, and just played their music. Again, the music was solid, but the overall performance was lackluster, and quite a disappointment to me. However, I would be happy to see the band again if they decide to come back, as everyone can have an off night.
Finally, the headliners of the main show, Goatsnake, arrived. I’ve listened to some Goatsnake; never seen them live, and in general was maybe a slight fan in passing. I cannot say I have ever been a die hard fan of the band, but I enjoy their music, and understood what a rare sight it was to have them play live especially in Tucson. The band put on a great show, and the second best (that honor still goes to Eagle Twin) performance of the main show. For a band that has only done a few shows here and there the last few years, they sounded incredible. They played quite a few new songs from the new album as well, which according to guitarist Greg Anderson, should be released next year “hopefully”. To bring up a point mentioned earlier regarding Amigo The Devil; vocalist Pete Stahl of Goatsnake showed how to interact with the fans. He seemed to be truly enjoying himself by telling the crowd how happy they were to be playing, and making jokes and being as energetic as could be. The rest of the band followed suit as well, and everyone, the band and the audience, were having a really good, fun loving time while the performance was going on. The new songs sounded great, and I’ll be sure to pick up the record whenever it is actually released.
As a quick aside, The Insane Clown Posse had played a show at the Rialto on October 16th, and they left some of their signature Faygo drink which resulted in a humorous back and forth between Pete and Greg Anderson. From mentioning that the ICP show had more cops outside to the left over case of Diet Faygo in the back, it was a nice break in the music, and was, again, a great example of interacting with the fans and the band to have a good time on stage and making a show memorable.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17: AFTER SHOW
Goatsnake ended around a quarter after 11 or so, and everyone left for the after show back at the District. The first band, Spiritual Shepherd, we never saw. The program states they were to start at 10:30 so I can only assume they had already played by the time we arrived. I’m not sure if there were any issue with bands playing longer or how the overall planning of a festival spread over two venues works, but I felt this robbed Spiritual Shepherd of a possibly bigger audience and a chance to get their name out there more. Either way, the first band that we got to hear was Destroyer of Light, a band from Austin, Texas. Truth be told, I do not really remember anything about the performance. It came off as a pretty standard doom/sludge band and not one that I really had any interest in persuing further. Perhaps it was from being tired, or perhaps it was the insanely crowded venue making it hard to pay proper attention to the band, but they didn’t click with me.
Second to last band of the night, Take Over And Destroy from Arizona. I have reviewed their new album Vacant Face on this site, and I had some of the same issues with them live as I did on the record- namely the keyboards. At times they fit the music and added a nice dimension, and other times they are way too distracting and sound so different from the music being played. They come off as cartoony or circus like at times, which takes me out of the bands’ sound. Luckily, there was not too much of that, and the band was able to keep the set heavy, and head-band worthy. An enjoyable show, and one that I was looking forward too, but left something to be desired. I do expect the band to be better the more they play, and I would have no issue seeing them again; just probably not too soon.
Finally, to end the after show was The Atlas Moth from Chicago. The Atlas Moth was the only band on the entire festival (aside form Godhunter) who I have actually seen on multiple occasions, but this was my first time seeing them since their new album The Old Believer was released. The performance took some time to get started, but once it did, they had the show of the night in my mind. Playing mostly new material mixed with a couple tracks from their last record, the set list was very strong, and the new songs sounded great live. The keys added great atmosphere and the emotion during the set (especially the track “The Sea Beyond”) was palpable and hypnotic. The whole band seemed to be more confident on stage, and new drummer Dan adds so much to the sound that was not present on the prior album or shows I saw them on in 2011 and 2013. Despite being tired, and feet being sore after hours of performances, The Atlas Moth ended the night on such a high note it all felt worth it.
All Pictures courtesy of Valerie LittleJohn for Violent Resonance at www.violentresonance.com except Daily Fliers courtesy of www.facebook.com/southwestterrorfest
