GWAR / Dying Fetus / All That Remains
Chicago House Of Blues - 11/11/04 by Sgt Deth
This was probably the most entertaining show I have ever seen. This
was my first GWAR show, enough said. I can't leave out the two opening
bands, because I have never seen either of them before, and they were
also truly amazing.
Starting with All That Remains, they popped on stage almost exactly
on time and obviously more than ready to go. The whole band was very
energetic, but not in an abnoxious way either. Some may describe ATR as
nu-metal, but I disagree. These guys have their own style, and it
really came out on stage. They didn't ask the crowd to jump up and down or to
bow before them. They didn't need to. Their music made the crowd thrash
pretty hard. In fact it was really cool how the crowd either recognized
them or just instantly fell in love with their brutal beats. I didn't
see anyone standing around scratching their heads; people really
accepted them.
I was looking forward to seeing these guys play, and I was not let
down. The singer Phil Labonte (ex Shadows Fall), really ripped their
songs off without a hitch. His voice is very versatile. He has a very
clear regular singing voice, then he will rip off a scream almost
reminescent of Chris Barnes from Six Feet Under. The whole band is
extremely talented and they work very well together. You can also see
more pictures and read an interview I did with Phil Labonte before the
show HERE.
Even though I was excited to see GWAR, I was still patient enough to
sit through Dying Fetus. I had always wanted to see these guys as well.
I have listened to their music for many years and I always pictured
them being one of those filth metal bands that are just gross and
belligerent in appearance (kinda like GWAR, huh?--Doc).
I was wrong, these guys are practiced professionals beyond belief.
The two lead guitarists can even do harmonics and pounding technics
together in perfect harmony. It was Iron Maiden quality guitar solos
and perfect vocals to boot. Plus, the drummer looked almost bored playing
300 M.P.H. He made the drum sticks blur effortlessly. I really believe
he could have played for hours.
These guys are definitely perfectionists. They didn't hardly say
anything to the crowd and they had almost no stage show. It was just
them playing hard, fast, and perfectly. They did play a long time and
every song was clear and sounded like the CD. In an afterthought
though, I probably could of listened to them at home and had the same amount of
entertainment.
Finally the mighty GWAR took the stage. I have never seen any band
take over the stage the way they did. They used every inch of the House
Of Blues fairly large sized stage. Let alone turning the whole audience
into a blood soaked terror zone. I don't think anyone made it out of
there without getting some kind of fluid jizzed on them.
Of course the great Oderus Urungus started out by explaining the
political reasonings behind the Mock the Vote tour and his new CD, "War
Party". He did his explaining by chopping up Arnold Schwarzennegger in
little pieces and then decapitating President Bush. After the
presidential decapitation, the Reaganator came out. Oderus proceeded to
flay off the front part of Reagan's torso to reveal a very bloody Nancy
Reagan trying to get out of him. Then the slaves all took turns jump
roping with Reagan's intestines.
For the song, "Baby Dick Fuck", he actually ate a disformed evil
looking fake baby's dick. That was probably by far the most shocking. I
really wondered how many people were offended, even with the scummy
crowd that was there. But, who gives a fuck!
Then like a blast from the past, they simulated Lacy Peterson like
she would be if she came back from the dead and crawled out of the San
Francisco Bay on her own. Oderus flayed her torso open and out comes
the unborn Peterson baby. He made quick work of the disgusting bloody baby
by eating it like a ham sandwich while the slaves were jump roping with
the still attached and squirting umbilical cord.
Oderus even chopped a whiny rock journalist into little pieces after
losing his patience with him. That kind of unerved me after just
interviewing him and interupting his dinner. That could have been me.
By the way, you can check out my interview and pictures with Oderus
HERE.
More and more sin and degredation took place than I can detail here.
All I can say is, YOU HAVE TO GO SEE GWAR!!! If you do, make sure to
wear old clothes and eat some mushrooms or something before you go. It
is more entertaining than any rock show out there!
Photos courtesy of Kathi Heitzman
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